Cut Scenes and Drabbles
by chipotlepeppers
Summary: A series of drabbles/cut scenes from my longer fic, Stand by You. These can stand alone, so you can still enjoy them even if you haven't read it, but they make more sense if you have. All take place in the same universe of Stand by You. Rocketshipping, Pokeshipping, and more. Each chapter is a one-shot. Contains some spoilers for Stand by You, but I will warn you as needed.
1. Birthday Struggles

Birthday struggles

 **Spoiler Warning** : read at least up to chapter 5 in Stand by You if you are currently reading it. This one shot takes place between chapter 5 and chapter 6.

 **Characters:** Team Rocket Trio and their Pokemon

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Please Meowth, I am begging you to help me!" James cried.

Meowth was just sitting by the river filing his nails when a distraught James came running towards him. James flung himself to ground and knelt in front of him, trying to make the action of dramatic as possible. The feline's first instinct was to roll his eyes and ignore him. After all, it was not unusual behavior, at least for him. His pal Jimmy came running and crying to him every time something went wrong. Burnt pancakes, a lost rose, out of toothpaste, broken nail, always an emergency.

"What is it dis time? Someone stepped on yere rose?" he asked in his usual, sarcastic tone.

"No, Meowth, this is serious!" James exclaimed.

"Ok den, what is it?" Meowth responded.

"Well, as you know it is March", James started.

"Really? I had no idea", Meowth said sarcastically.

James ignored him and continued.

"As you know, Jessie and I have the same birthday. I usually get her something small, like cupcakes or a bouquet of flowers", said James. "But this year is a big deal, and I need to get her something special and I only have two weeks to find something."

"How come dis year is a big deal? Is dere somethin' I missed?" asked Meowth.

"We have been dating for four months" James told him. "I want to get her something special".

"Oh right. Ok. How 'bouts yous get here a charm fer dat charm bracelet I gots yous two a few years ago?" Meowth suggested.

"Meowth, you get us a matching charm to add every year", James responded. "That isn't special".

"Gee danks", he replied. "Why don't yous pick out yere own 'special' charm den? Yous can get her somethin' romantic".

"Like what?" James asked.

"Dink of somethin' yereself. Yere de one datin' her you dummy", he responded. "Besides, I don't see what de big deal is. Yous two act de same as yous always did before except now you kiss all de time and kick Meowth outta yere room when weeze are stayin' somewhere nice".

"You are so insensitive", James replied. "But you gave me a good idea. Thanks".

"Sure, whatever", Meowth responded.

Meowth curled up in a ball by the river and went to sleep while James ran off to the nearest shopping mall. About ten minutes later Jessie, Gourgeist, and Wobbufet came up to him.

"Psst, furball", said Jessie, as she poked him away with a stick.

"What?" Meowth asked irritably.

"I need your help", Jessie said. There was a hint of embarrassment in her voice.

" _You_ need _me_? Ain't dat a dink of curiosity," the Pokémon replied.

"Our birthdays are coming up and I need to get something for James. Something good this time", she told him.

"Wobbufet Wobba!" Wobbufet added.

"Oh. Dis again", he sighed.

"What? Do you mean?" asked Jessie.

"Nuthin'", Meowth responded. "Why don'ts yous just get him a charm?"

"For the bracelet? That's dumb", said Jessie. "I want to get him something good".

"Um, yous mean to say dat yous wouldn't want a charm?" Meowth asked her nervously.

"Well, its fine if you get me one Meowth, but I wanted to get James useful, something he really needs", Jessie replied.

" _Crap",_ thought Meowth. " _Jimmy's gonna hate me if she don't like her gift_ ".

"What are you thinking, Meowth", he heard Jessie ask.

"I dink dat charms can be really romantic is yous pick it out special", he responded.

"I guess so", she replied.

"What don't yous make him somethin'?" Meowth suggested.

"Like what?" she asked.

"I don't know. Dat's fer yous to figure out", he retorted.

"Whatever. Thanks for nothing", she said as she walked away.

"Wobba", Wobbufet told Meowth before following Jessie and Gourgeist.

"Stop interuptin' my naps", he called after them.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two weeks later Jessie woke up and found that instead of James, there were about fifty red roses lying on and next to her. She sat up and found Acorn, Aliyah, Mime Jr., Chimecho, Serviper, and Wobbufet staring at her. She peered outside the tent and found that all of her and James' Pokémon were out and playing. She quickly fixed her hair, put on some clothes, and walked outside. James was cooking by the fire, his back turned towards her. He didn't hear her approach.

"Happy birthday", she said as she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

James jump a little bit but then regained his composure and returned the kiss.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Ten", he said casually.

"Ten!" she exclaimed. "James, we have a job to do! The boss is expecting at least three new Pokémon by tomorrow!"

"Chill", he responded. "I let you sleep late on purpose. I caught a dozen Pidgey and a few Scatterbug in a trap I set up last night", he replied. "I sent them to the boss this morning".

Jessie was shocked. James was good at setting traps, but he normally screwed something up before they actually got the Pokémon to the boss. And of course she always appreciated a few extra hours to sleep.

"Wow. I'm impressed. Is that my gift?", she responded.

"Nope", he answered. "This is".

James handed her a tiny box wrapped in crimson wrapping paper. He turned around and took a bouquet of red roses and some chocolate out of his knapsack and handed them to her.

"This is so sweet. Breakfast, Pokémon, and presents. I should sleep late more often", she replied.

Jessie left to go get James his gift. She came back with a medium-sized box in her hands.

"It isn't much, but I hope you like it", she said as she handed him the present.

"And dese are fer yous two", said Meowth as he handed them each a small box.

"Thanks", they replied in unison. They opened Meowth's gift first.

"A charm for Inkay", said James. "I have been hoping for one of these".

"And a charm for Gourgeist. Thanks, Meowth", said Jessie.

They both crushed Meowth in a group hug, which Wobbufet, as usual, decided that he had to join.

"Open yours now, Jess", said James.

Jessie nodded and then took the paper off of the little box. She opened it and smiled at what she found.

"I thought that you might like a special charm. One that I picked out", he told her.

The charm was a heart composed of little tiny red roses. It was a little bit larger than all her other charms.

"James, this is beautiful. Thank you", she said as she gave him another hug. This time Wobbufet and Meowth were excluded.

"Open yours", she commanded.

"Yes ma'am", said James as he opened his box.

Inside was a framed picture of him and Growly. James was two years old, and he was riding on Growly's back in his grandparent's backyard. He was smiling and laughing.

"I stole that photo from your album when we stayed in your room", she told him. "But I made the frame. And there is more in the box".

"Jessie, this is really sweet" he told her.

James looked through the box and found a new pair of boots. They were a bit of a different style than his usually Team Rocket-issued ones.

"Thank you. I needed these. My other ones are about ten years old now", he said as he tried them on. "They are my style".

"Of course" she responded. "Now that we have the rest of the day free, what do you want to do?" she asked seductively.

"Um, lets get rid of the Pokémon first", he said as he blushed.

"It's okay. We are already outta here", Meowth said as he started putting everyone in their balls.

"Eevee eve", said Acorn, Jessie's newest Pokémon. She rubbed her face up against Jessie.

"Vee vee!" cried Aliyah, her twin sister as she jumped into James' arms.

"We need someone here to protect us. Why don't you two stay?" James suggested.

"But don't come out unless we call you", said Jessie as she returned the Eevee.

Meowth took the rest of their Pokémon and headed to town, leaving the two of them alone in the woods.

"De struggle of birthdays", he mumbled to himself.


	2. Crashing

Spoiler Warning: If you are reading Stand by You, read at least up to chapter 32. Contains no spoilers for the anime. Can stand alone, but will make sense if you have read Stand by You. Takes place between/during Chapter 31-32

Characters: Lucy(original character) and Meowth

Crashing

Lucy woke up in here usual spot, a nook in the roof above the Alizarin Bakery. This one Rapidash town was in no way her dream home, but she couldn't help but smile at the sunrise as it came over the hill. She could see parts of Cerulean and Celadon City from up here, and she dreamt of one day going there, but for now, she was too tired and weak from lack of food to go alone.

The Purrloin stretched, licked her purple fur, and jumped off the bakery roof. She spent a few hours hunting bugs, then decided that she wanted something more….sweet and savory. She returned to the bakery.

" _Good_ " she thought to herself as she peered in the window. " _Its open_ ".

"I haven't seen her yet today", he heard the voice of man say.

"Just keep an eye out. That Purrloin has been hear almost every day for the last month. We can't keep chasing her out of here, and we cannot afford to keep feeding her. You know that, and you need to catch her", a woman reproached.

"Its just…..she is really hard to catch. I know she is bad for business, but what can I do? Hire a trainer to get her for me?" he responded.

"That is exactly what you should do. Just ask the next ten year old who comes walking through here on their way to Celadon City. You might not even have to offer to pay them. Those stupid kids get everything they need for their Pokémon for free anyway", the woman replied. "It's already passed April. I'm sure the young trainers will be arriving here soon, they usually do this time of year".

" _That woman is dumber than she looks if she thinks that I am going to get captured by some ten year old. Maybe I should demonstrate some of my abilities for her",_ Lucy thought to herself.

Lucy spied on the two bakers and waited until they both had their heads turned before grabbing as many baked goods as she should shove into her small satchel.

"She's here!" a little girl screamed as she pointed at the thieving Purrloin.

"See ya", she said, taking off at the speed of light. Literally.

"Did she….did she just talk?" the man asked his wife and the little girl.

"I think so? Did you see her take off? That was some quick attack", the wife responded. "Wait a minute! She just stole from us. How many did she take this time?"

The baker counted his stock and subtracted the total from what was remaining.

"Four Strawberry Filled, three Boston Crèmes, Two triple Chocolate, and a Cinnamon raisin bagel", he said sadly.

"Ugh!" The wife complained. "We have to deal with her. Just because she can talk doesn't make her any more than a thief".

"Right. I will search for a Pokémon trainer to help us", said the man.

"If we catch it, can I have it as my own?" the little girl asked her father.

"Sorry, but we cannot afford to keep another Pokémon", the father responded. "When you turn ten, then you can catch your own".

"Daddy, Purrloin are rare around here. They are native to Unova", she reminded him.

"Well, maybe we can make it there someday. But remember, Purrloin are sneaky creatures, you are probably better off with a Skitty or Meowth", her mother told the girl.

Meanwhile, Lucy had made it across town. Now she was on the roof of a dental office, enjoying all of her stolen goods. She didn't realize at the time that this would be here last substantial meal for the week.

Xxxxxxxxxx

" _Dose humans get more and more annoyin' everyday_ ", Meowth complained in his head.

The scratch-cat Pokémon was taking a break from his twelve plus traveling companions. He told them he was going shopping, but with hardly any money, he knew it was unlikely that there would be anything he could afford. Instead he planned on just wasting a few hour taking a nap in some secluded area. Somewhere where Jessie and James would not make him help them with the chores or where twerpy Bonnie wouldn't insist on brushing him or where he didn't have to listen to Ash Ketchum bragging or complaining about one thing or the other.

" _Dere ain't much to buy 'round dis dumb town anyway_ ", he thought to himself as he looked around the shops.

It happened so quick, that at first Meowth didn't know how to react. He thought he heard someone mumble the word 'move', but it didn't make any difference. The next thing he knew he hit hard by someone moving at an incredible speed. The someone who cashed into him sent the two of them flying several yards. The next thing he knew he off his feet, and lying on top of a street Purrloin. She pushed him off of her and hissed at him menacingly.

"I told you to move!" she said angrily.

Before Meowth could say anything, the Purrloin turned away from him and whispered "I gotta go". She picked up the piece of bread that she was evidently trying to steal and took off, running on two legs instead of four. A mob of angry towspeople were chasing her.

" _Dat Purrloin has one amazin' quick attack. And she could talk human_!" Meowth screamed in his head. " _I have to find her_ ".

After recruiting a flock of wild Pidgey to help him locate the mysterious feline, Meowth found the Purrloin behind a dumpster in one of the nay dark alleyways present in the small city. She didn't seem all that surprised to see him approaching her.

"I'm not sharing", she hissed as she continued to eat the moldy bread in her possession.

" _Like I'd be caught dead eatin dat garbage. Ha! No since Hollywood_ ", he thought to himself.

"Dat's not why I followed yous here", Meowth told her. "I never met another Pokémon whos could speak human".

The Purrloin's face lit up with joy, catching Meowth by surprise. She stood up and grabbed both of his paws, causing him to blush and lose track of his words.

"No way! A Meowth that could speak human. I thought I was the only Pokémon in the world who could speak human language", she told him.

The Purrloin smiled at him again, and he began to feel nervous.

"So….I'm Lucy", she said. "Who are you?"

" _I gotta be careful 'round her_ " Meowth thought to himself. _"De last Purrloin I came across humiliated me. I guess it cant hurt to talk to her, so long as I don't fall for her_ ", he concluded to speak with her.

"De call me Meowth", he said proudly.

"They?" she asked sadly. "Who are 'they'? Don't tell me you have a trainer".

Meowth was once again surprised by her reaction. She spoke with condescension, disappointment, sadness, confusion, and rage at the same time.

"I don't have no trainer", he told her. "I'm a free Pokémon, but I gots lots of human friends".

She wasn't convinced.

"That is the same thing", she responded.

Lucy went on to describe why she thought humans were horrible creatures and how Meowth was really stupid for trusting them. The whole time Meowth couldn't help but get pissed off that she was talking about his closest friends like that and he decided to make it his mission to change her mind. After arguing for a bit, he convinced her to come back to camp with him, offering free food and his protection from the all humans if she complied.

"Fine. I'll come check it out, but I am running as soon as I see something suspicious", she decided.

"Great, let's go!" he said happily.

They left the alleyway together and climbed up the nearest roof. The Purrloin effortlessly leapt from one rooftop to another, all the while careful to not be spotted. She motioned for him to follow her.

"Dis is gonna be embarrassin'" he thought to himself as he attempted to leap to the adjacent rooftop.

"I made it!" he thought happily when he opened his eyes and realized he had managed to get to his destination. With a newfound confidence, he followed the Purrloin out of the city.

"Ok. Now its your turn to lead", said Lucy. "Where are these human 'friends' of yours?"

"I'll show you", he said as he strolled passed her.

Meanwhile…..

"James, can you massage my feet?" Jessie asked. "They are all sore and swollen".

"Um, ok", he said hesitantly. "How did they get like that?"

"We spent so much time wearing our uniforms. Usually when we spend days walking like this I am wearing my boots. I'm not used to these shoes", she replied, referring to the pair of sneakers that Delia had given her. "They hurt".

James couldn't imagine how a pair of walking sneakers could possibly be less comfortable than a bear of healed boots, but he decided it was best not ot question. Jessie already looked and sounded exhausted and irritated.

"Ok, but then can you do my back later? It's been a while", he responded.

"Sure, but me first", she said, lying down on the bed.

A few seconds later Bonnie and Dedenne barged into the room, hairbrush in hand.

"Is Meowth here?" she asked.

"De de ne?" asked Dedenne.

"No, he went out shopping. And who do you think you are? Just because we are allies now doesn't mean you can just come barging in here whenever you feel like it. You should at least knock", Jessie scolded.

"Sorry. I told him I would brush him later. I am doing all the Pokémon and I just finished", she responded.

"Well he said he'd be gone most of the day", James told her in his typically polite voice. "We will let you know when he gets back".

"Okay. I will see you later", said Bonnie as she shut the door.

"De de de", Dedenne added as he followed Bonnie outside.

"These brats sometimes really get on my nerves" Jessie complained.

"Just yesterday you were laughing and watching movies with them", James pointed out. "Why are you so moody all of a sudden? I thought we didn't have to worry about that for another week."

Jessie smacked him with her ever-present paper fan. James decided to back off the questioning. He should have known she would get mad at him for making fun of her time of the month.

"Now lay down so I can walk on you back", she told him.

James did as she asked. After about ten minutes, the two of them had lightened up and were joking and laughing. Not long after that, they heard someone knocking on the door.

"Come in" they said in unison.

"I'm back!" Meowth announced as he strolled into the cabin's common area. Lucy followed reluctantly behind.

"Where are yous two?" he asked. He looked around but didn't see them.

"Over here" said Jessie.

"What they hell are they doing?" Lucy whispered to Meowth. "Why is she waling on his back?"

"Jimmy gets a sore back. Dis helps relieve de pressure", he explained.

After introducing herself, Jessie and James bombarded the Pokémon with questions. Lucy decided to ask them a few questions of her own.

"You three live here?" she asked them.

"No, we are just traveling together as part of a large group", James explained. "We are just staying the night".

"So there are more of you?" she asked.

Lucy was reluctant to stay in an area with Pokémon trainers, especially hoards of them. Jessie and James convinced her that the goody-goody twerps would not try and capture her unless she asked them to.

"I'm only here because Meowth said that there would be free food", Lucy explained.

A few minutes later someone knocked on their door. Lucy hid behind the coach as James got the door. It was Cilan.

"Dinner is ready", he told them.

Lucy followed the trio outside to the fire pit. She was horrified to see over a dozen young trainers sitting there, ranging from about age eight to about 21, with Jessie and James being the oldest at 25. She was once again bombarded with questions. Lucy ended up taking her food and leaving the group.

Meowth followed her. After some heart-to-heart discussion, she decided to follow the trio and their collection of odd new friends and Pokémon. She could never imagine the adventures ahead of her, but for this one night she was just grateful to finally have a good meal, a bed, and at least one person she could call a friend.


	3. an unusual assignment

Operation Unimagined

 **Spoiler Warning:** read at least up to Chapter 3 if you are reading my fic  Stand by 

You. This one shot takes somewhere around place between chapters 2 and 3. Can be read as a stand alone, contains no spoilers for the anime.

 **Characters** : Brock, Misty, Iris, and Cilan.

' _Lalalalalala, this is my paradise_ _lalalalala_ _'_ the familiar ringtone played throughout the tiny two-room apartment.

Brock stepped away from his laptop and got up to answer his iPhone, which was sitting on the unmade bed, next to his snoozing Leafeon and Spinarack. The Pokémon gave him a curious look as he answered the phone.

"Hello, Ash?" Brock answered as he picked up. "What's hanging? It's been awhile. How's the Kalos region?"

"You wouldn't believe what just happened", Ash started.

"Well, with you I have learned to always expect the unexpected, even all these years later", he responded.

Brock headed out to his balcony. His apartment overlooked the entirety of the city. Though hesitant to move into an unfamiliar place at first, he soon found himself right at home with the people of Saffron. Lost in his schoolwork, he was studying hard day and night to become a Pokémon doctor, and he was more than happy to get a few minutes' break to talk to an old friend.

"James has been kidnapped!" he heard Bonnie exclaim in the background.

"James….like Team Rocket's James?" he asked for clarification.

"That crazy fiancé took him away. Jessie and Meowth just told us all about it. We ran into them this morning and they told us. At first we didn't believe them but then they just sorta left us alone and then took the Meowth balloon away without even trying to attack us", Ash explained. "Then we found a wedding invitation blowing in the wind. We know that it's fake".

"That's interesting, but why are you calling me about it?" Brock asked them.

"We want to help them", said Serena, who was apparently with Ash as well.

"De ne ne!" chirped Bonnie's little friend, Dedenne.

"You aren't too far from where the mansion is. We were wondering if you, Misty, Cilan, Iris and whoever else you could convince could help them rescue him", Ash asked. "We know you are all still in Kanto".

"Ash, you feeling okay? This is Team Rocket we are talking about", said Brock.

"Brock! This is Jessiebelle! You can't tell me that you have forgotten all about that nutjob", Ash responded.

"Pika pi!" he heard Pikachu yell in the background.

"Jessiebelle, I remember her. How could I forget", Brock replied.

Images of her homemade medieval sex dungeon popped into his head. James begging them for help as his parents ignored his pleading and begging for freedom. Though six years old, those memories were still fresh in his mind. He shuddered at the thought. " _No one, not even James deserves that_ ", he thought to himself.

"Ok. I have Cilan, Misty, and Iris' numbers. I will give them a ring and see what they are up to. But even if I do get a hold of them and they are willing to help, what do you suggest we do? It really isn't our business", Brock told them. "His parents aren't going to listen to us, even if we do manage to get a chance to speak to them on James' behalf".

"You are smart, you can think of something", said Duplica, who had joined Ash, Serena, Bonnie, and Clement in the Kalos region several months previously.

"We believe in you, Brock. Go be a hero!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"De de de ne!" yelled Dedenne.

"Okay, okay. I could use a break anyway", Brock responded.

"Okay. Call us when you get a hold of everyone", said Ash. "And thanks".

"Sure", he replied.

Everyone said goodbye and Brock hung up the phone, unsure of what he had just gotten himself into.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later, Brock, Leafeon, Spinarack and Chansey stood in the lobby of the Saffron City train station.

"Leaf leaf", said Leafeon suddenly, nudging Brock with her vine whip.

A young woman with ginger hair and a tiny blue Azuril on her shoulder came strolling towards him.

"Brock!" she called out excitedly.

"Misty!" said Brock, giving her a hug.

"Zur Azuril", said Azuril, who greeted Brock and then struck up a conversation with his Pokémon.

"Ash is going to owe us for this", said Misty. "A train from Cerulean to Saffron isn't cheap, and I had to take a whole day off of work for this, and hire someone to watch the gym since my sisters are out of town again".

"I'm sure you can find a way to make him pay you back", Brock responded with a grin.

Misty gave a deep sigh as she put her bag down. Azuril jumped back onto her should.

"So where are Iris and Cilan?" she asked.

"On there way", he replied.

"Hey guys!" Misty and Brock heard a familiar voice call.

Iris and Cilan were walking towards them. Pansiege and Axew followed closely behind.

"We were wondering when you'll were going to get here", said Brock. "Misty just arrived".

"So what is our plan?" asked Cilan.

"Let's go back to my place", Brock suggested. "We can think up a plan there".

The four of them left the station and took a cab to Brock's apartment.

"This isn't so bad", said Iris, who had never seen the inside of the flat before.

"It's good enough for me", he told her.

"I was thinking that maybe we should disguise ourselves as guests", said Misty. "A wedding like this is sure to be huge, and we can easily get in if we pretend to be impersonate some other wealthy couple".

"Good idea. Any idea how we are going to do that?" asked Iris.

"Xew xew?" asked Axew.

"Well I have a directory that lists all the families in this part of Kanto. We can tell by their address how wealthy they are. All we have to do is pick two random couples and pretend to be them", she explained.

"I like it", said Cilan. "This can work".

"Once we are in we can use our Pokémon to give us a hand", said Brock. "We can look up the layout of the mansion online and figure things out from there".

"I have walky talkies", said Iris, holding up the devices. She handed one to each of them. "I figured they might come in handy".

"Now let's work out a plan", said Misty.

"Let's do it", Cilan told them.

"Right!" they all agreed.

" _Don't worry James, Rocket or not, we got your back",_ Misty thought to herself.

Xxxxxxxxx


	4. Splendid Summer Surprises

Pleasant Surprises

 **Spoiler Warning** : Takes after the last 'real' chapter of Stand by You, before the epilogue. Makes references to the episode "Crossing Paths", in the DP anime. One shot.

 **Characters** : Jessie, James, Annastasia, Rumika, Meowth and Lucy.

Everyone in the small house on the edge of Pallet town was gathered in the living room. Jessie was lying on the couch eating popcorn and flipping through the channels on their new TV while the two Eevee lay next to her. Wobbufet and Lucy were playing chess in the middle of the room, Meowth was shining his egg, and Rumika was painting her nails while James was changing Annastasia.

"All clean!" James announced, placing Annastasia on the ground.

The baby girl crawled over to her mother and tugged on her magenta hair. Acorn and Aliyah mewed in Jessie's ear.

"Ok, I got you", said Jessie as she put the popcorn bowl down on the ground and lifted Annastasia onto her lap.

"It is such a nice June day outside", said James. "Let's go camping".

"Urrrrgh", everyone in the living room groaned.

"Not dis again", Meowth complained.

"Come on! Please? After a rainy April and May, I would think some outdoor time is just what we need", James tried to convince his family to listen to him.

"We spent the last ten years of our lives sleeping outside", said Jessie. "Why on Earth would we want to go back out now that we have an actual house to live in?"

"Wobba?" Wobbufet asked James.

"Then can we at least have a picnic?" he pleaded. "I'm not going to leave you alone until we do".

James shut off the T.V.

"Hey!" everyone replied in unison.

"Eevee eve!" said the Eevee.

"Wobba!" said Wobbufet.

James continued to pout. Meowth and Jessie couldn't stand it when he got like this.

"If we go will you stop moping?" asked Lucy.

James nodded. Everyone sighed and stood up, except Rumika.

"Just let me finish this last coat", she said. "Ten minutes".

"You all are the best", James said, squeezing them in a group hug.

"Watch the egg!" Meowth grumbled as he clasped the egg protectively.

"Come on everyone!" James called out into the back yard. "We are going on a picnic!"

Amoongus, Carnivine, Cacturne, Raichu, Yamask, Growly, Inkay, Chimecho, and Mime Jr. came running in. He went upstairs and called to Jessie's Pokémon, who were sleeping on his and Jessie's bed. They all followed him to the kitchen.

"Help me pack us up some food", he told them all.

"Mime mime!" said Mime Jr. happily.

"Gourgeist, giest", said Gourgeist.

All the Pokémon helped James make sandwiches and riceballs. Wobbufet and Inkay even made some lemonade for them to bring. Ten minutes later everyone else had gathered in the kitchen. Jessie and Annastasia were wearing matching sundresses, sunhats, and sunglasses. Jessie handed a pair of sunglasses to each of the Pokémon and Rumika.

"Did you put sunblock on her?" James asked Jessie as he nodded toward the baby.

"All done", she said, handing him the bottle.

"Then let's go", he said excitedly.

The large group headed towards the car.

"Remy!" James exclaimed. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes sir, I got your message, but are you sure you want me to come? Don't you just want your family there?" the young butler replied.

"You are our family", said Rumika as she playfully elbowed him in the side. "Come on!"

"If you insist….." he responded.

The group left the neighborhood and headed to a nearby park. Meowth lay the egg down on the grass.

"I know yous can't really see anythin' yet, but dis here is a park", Meowth explained.

Lucy playfully wacked him on the head.

"Don't be a dummy", she told him.

The two cat-type Pokémon sat down and dug into their lunch. Jessie placed Annastasia in her little booster seat and put it on the ground. Then she lay out a blanket so that she could tan in her swimsuit. James, Rumika, and Remy did the same.

"Isn't this nicer than television?" James asked them.

"Yes", Jessie said as a smile came across her face.

"Uh, maybe", said Rumika.

"Jessie, Jessie is that you?!" they heard a voice call from a few yards away.

Everyone looked over to see a young man with brown hair and glasses standing alone with three Dustox. But two of those Dustox were awfully familiar.

"Austin!" Jessie called excitedly as she put on her cover-up. "Dustox, is that you?"

"Dustox dust", the Pokémon replied happily, flying up to her and then rubbing against her. She still had the yellow ribbons in her antennae.

"Austin?" Lucy, Rumika, and Remy repeated in unison. "Dustox?"

"Who are they?" asked Lucy.

James briefly explained how Jessie and Austin's Dustox fell in love and left them to start a family back when they were traveling through Sinnoh.

"How did you, is this, how?" Jessie stuttered.

"My Dustox found me on the road. I asked him if he and his family wanted to join my team. They agreed", he explained. "We were just coming to the park for some exercise when I saw you and your friends arrive. I thought you'd might want to see her again".

"I am so glad", said Jessie, hugging Dustox.

"This is their baby", said Austin, pointing the smallest Dustox.

"Hi there", Jessie said to the Dustox, petting it on the head. She turned back to her old Dustox. "A lot has changed since I last saw you. I have a baby now too".

"Dustox Dustox?" asked Dustox.

Meowth came up next to them.

"Dustox says dat she don't believe you", he translated.

"She's right there", said Jessie, pointing to Annastasia, who was being held by James. Jessie motioned for him to come over.

"Hi", James said shyly.

"Congratulations", said Austin, looking down at the infant. "What's her name?"

"Annastasia", Jessie said proudly.

"She's really adorable", he replied.

"Dust dust tox", said Dustox.

"Thank you", said Jessie. "How long have you been traveling with these three?"

"Not long", Austin responded. "I met up with them about two weeks ago".

"Would you like to stay for lunch?" asked Jessie. "We made extra lemonade, sandwiches and riceballs".

"I'd love to. I have some Pokepuffs that I can share with your Pokémon", he responded.

"Wobbbbbbaaa!" said Wobbufet happily.

"Nice", said Lucy and Meowth in unison.

Austin joined them as they sat and ate their lunch. Jessie told stories about all the contests that she and Dustox had won together and about how strong their bond was.

"It really broke my heart, letting her go", Jessie confessed. "But by letting her go with her soul mate, she gave me hope that someday I would find my own. So in the end, I didn't regret it".

Jessie smiled at James, who was still holding the little girl in his arms.

"I am glad for you", said Austin. "Really, I am".

"Thank you", Jessie replied.

"Dustox, if you want to stay with Austin, that is okay with me", Jessie told her Pokémon.

"Dustox?" asked Dustox.

"She wanna knows if yer sure", Meowth translated.

"I am. Just promise to visit me. You know where to find me", she replied.

"I swear to take good care of them", Austin promised.

"I know you will", Jessie responded.

After lunch they all said goodbye to Austin.

"Good luck finding your soul mate, Austin", Jessie said as she waved goodbye. "And take good care of my princess!"

"Thank you Jessie. I will, don't worry. You can count on me!" he called back.

The seven of them and their Pokémon piled back into the car and headed back to the house.

"Aren't you glad I made you get up off the couch?" James asked Jessie.

"I always am", she replied.

xxxxxxxxxx


	5. A Homecoming

A Homecoming

 **Spoiler Warning** : takes place between the last 'real' chapter of Stand by You and the epilogue. I recommend you read Stand by You first. One shot.

 **Characters:** Ash, Misty, Drew, May, Dawn, Jessie, James, Annastasia, Meowth, Lucy, and Rumika.

"A Frontier Brain?" Ash pondered aloud. "I don't know. It sounds like a big responsibility".

"Pikachu pika", said Pikachu.

"I know it pays well, but I am going to have to think about it", he told his little friend. "I have to talk to Misty about it".

"Talk to me about what?" Misty asked as she entered the tent with Azuril.

Misty, Ash, Dawn, May, and Drew were on their way to visit Brock, Autumn, Delia, and Giovanni at the Pokémon hospital they had opened several weeks earlier. They decided to travel the old-fashioned way, without public transportation, except this time instead of walking they all had bicycles.

"This whole Frontier Brain business", he responded.

"I think you are overthinking it", Misty told him. "You can always just try it for a little while and see how you like it, or wait until you are older".

"Pika", Pikachu commented.

"Azuril ril", Azuril agreed.

"You are right. So where are May, Dawn, and Drew?" Ash asked.

"Waiting for us", she responded. "They already have their tents packed up. Help me get this place ready to go".

"You got it", he replied.

After they finished packing up their tent, May, Drew, Dawn, Ash, and Misty mounted their bikes.

"If we follow this one path, we should get there by five", Drew told the group.

"Right", they all responded in unison.

After about two hours of straight pedaling, they decided to stop for a brief water and bathroom break at one of the many rest stops along the bike trail.

"There sure are a lot of wild Pokémon around here", May commented as she looked around. Ratatta, Caterpie, and Pidgey were everywhere.

"This place has a large variety of fruit and a huge amount of berries, not to mention a nice clean watering hole, caves for shelter, and tall trees for flying types", said Drew. "Its no wonder so many gather here".

"Ekkkkannsssss", they heard a hiss from behind them.

"Hey look over there", said Dawn, pointing to a nearby cave.

They all turned around and found a large purple snake-Pokémon slivering towards them.

"It's been a while since I've seen an Ekans", said Ash, holding his Pokedex up to scan it.

"Look, there are more!" May exclaimed.

What appeared to be dozens of Ekans and Koffing were coming towards them.

"That's funny, Ekans and Koffing. Didn't you say that Jessie and James used to have those two?" asked Dawn.

"They sure did, then they evolved into Arbok and Weezing, but then one day they must have released them or something, because they just stopped using them", May explained.

"When I was traveling with Ash, Weezing and Arbok were their only two Pokémon for a while", said Misty.

"Ekans and Koffing tend to be natural friends", Drew explained. "It makes sense for them to hang out together in nature".

"Hey, guys", May addressed the wild Pokémon. "Would you like some Pokepuffs?"

May handed them some treats, which they received gratefully. A few minutes later a Weezing and Arbok came into view.

"Charrrrrbock!" Arbok called to Ash, Misty, and Pikachu.

"Weeeeeezing!" called Weezing.

"Are they talking to us?" Misty asked Ash.

"Pi! Pikachu pika", Pikachu tried to explain. He did his best imitation of Jessie, James, and Meowth.

"I think Pikachu is trying to tell you that he knows this Arbok and Weezing", Drew interpreted. "And it has something to do with Jessie, James and Meowth".

"Ash, I think this is Team Rocket's Arbok and Weezing!" Misty exclaimed.

Weezing and Arbok nodded their heads.

"What are you two doing out here?" May asked them.

"Weezing, weeze Weezing", said Weezing.

"Charrrbock bock", said Arbok.

"If this is their Pokémon, we should call Jessie and James", said Drew.

"Is that what you want us to do?" Misty asked them.

Arbok and Weezing once again nodded their heads enthusiastically.

Ash took out his phone and dialed Jessie and James' home phone.

"Hello?" Rumika asked as she answered the phone.

"Hi Rumika. This is Ash. Is Jessie and/or James there? We have something important to tell them", Ash told her.

"I will go see if I can find them", she said.

Rumika walked around the house until she spotted Jessie, James, and Annastasia lying together in the grass outside in the backyard. She handed them the phone.

"It's Ash. He says he has something important to tell you", Rumika explained.

"What's up, twerp, we are busy", Jessie said into the phone.

"Oh really?" said Misty. "Too busy for Arbok and Weezing?"

Jessie and James froze.

"Did you say…..", James started.

"….Arbok and Weezing?" James finished.

"Yep", Misty and Ash said in unison.

"What are you talking about?" Jessie asked them.

"Misty, Dawn, May, Drew, and I were on our way to my mother's hospital when we ran into a bunch of wild Pokémon", Ash explained. "Arbok and Weezing were with them".

" _Your_ Arbok and Weezing", Misty emphasized.

"It can't be…" said James in disbelief.

"We swear its true", said May.

"Are you sure?" James asked them.

"Positive. Pikachu recognizes them for sure", said Dawn.

"James, go find Meowth", Jessie told her partner.

"Right", he replied, following her orders.

"How's Arbok? Is she ok?" Jessie asked.

"She looks healthy to me", Drew answered. "In fact they both look really good".

"And they seem to miss you for some reason", Dawn added.

James came back a few seconds later, dragging Meowth behind him. Meowth spoke into the phone.

"Yous really got Arbok and Weezin' dere?" He asked.

"Yes" the teenagers replied in unison.

"Lemme speak to dem", Meowth responded.

Ash held the phone up to Arbok. Weezing floated over next to her.

"Charbock charrrr char", she hissed into the phone.

"Weezing Weezing", Weezing added.

"De said dat dey miss you and dey wanna be yere Pokémon again", Meowth translated.

"Weezing, I miss you too! We want you both to come live with us again. We have a real home now. And money. We are no longer living on the streets or going hungry", James assured them. "Please come back!"

"Weeeezing weeze", said Weezing.

"Char char bok", said Arbok.

"Dey said dat dey really wanna come back and live with us again", Meowth told Jessie and James.

"Then we are going to get you as soon as possible", said Jessie.

"That's right", said James.

"Where are you all now?" Jessie asked the teenagers.

"We are about six miles away from the hospital", said Misty.

"Weezing, Arbok, go with the twerps", James instructed. "We will come pick you up there".

"Arbok Char?" asked Arbok.

"Weeeezing?" asked Weezing.

"What are they saying, Meowth?" Jessie asked impatiently.

"Dey are confused. Dey don't know why de twerps are helpin' yous", he responded.

"It's a long story", said James. "Don't worry about it for now, we will tell you all about it later. We have a lot to share with you".

"Don't worry, my precious Arbok. We will be with you soon", Jessie told her beloved Pokémon.

"We should have the twerps capture them for us", James whispered to Jessie.

"Why?" she asked.

"How else are they going to get to the mansion?" he replied.

"Right", she whispered.

"We need you to put them in Pokeballs so that they can travel with you", James told the teens.

"I see. Then we can send them to Professor Oak from the transporter at the hospital", said Drew. "You can pick them up there".

"Exactly", Jessie and James said together.

"Charrbock bok bok", said Arbok happily.

"Weeze Weezing", said Weezing.

"We will see you in a little while", Jessie and James told their Pokémon before hanging up the phone.

"Well, this is awkward", said Ash, turning to Arbok and Weezing. "Of all the Pokémon….I never thought I'd be catching _you_ ".

"Weezing Weezing", said Weezing.

"Char Charbock", said Arbok.

"Go Pokeball", said Misty as she threw an empty ball at Arbok.

The snake immediately disappeared into it. Misty picked up the ball and grinned with satisfaction.

"Now I know how Ash feels", she started. "I just throw a Pokeball and catch a Pokémon, I don't even have to weaken it first".

"Ha ha very funny", said Ash as he threw a ball at Weezing.

Ash picked up the ball and looked down at it in his hand.

"This feels so weird", he commented.

"Pika pi", said Pikachu.

"I know what you mean", said Misty.

"We better get moving", said Drew. "They are expecting us there before six".

Everyone climbed back onto their bikes and rode towards the hospital.

Meanwhile…

"This is so great! I can't wait to see my precious Arbok!" Jessie cried happily.

"And I missed Weezing so much. I can't wait to have him back on my team", said James.

"Dey were de first Pokémon dat Jessie and James used to battle when weeze first joined Team Rocket", Meowth explained to Rumika and Lucy, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Jessie got me Weezing for my seventeenth birthday", James told them. "He was just a little Koffing then".

"I got Arbok when she was just an innocent little Ekans", said Jessie. "James gave her to me as an early Christmas present one year".

"If you loved them so much, why did you let them go?" Rumika asked them.

"Poachers", they said in unison.

"One day a poacher with a Tyranitar was capturing a whole bunch of Koffing and Ekans", Jessie started.

"We let them free, but the poacher was still going to go after them. We knew he was just going to capture them again", said Jessie.

"So dey let dem goes so dat dey could protect all de Ekans and Koffing", Meowth explained.

"We haven't seen or heard of them since then. And that was years ago", said James. "I never thought I'd see them again".

"Huh", said Lucy. "Good for you guys".

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Ash and friends finally arrived at the hospital. They ran inside and headed straight for Delia's office.

"Last time I was in this place it was to rescue James from Jessiebelle", Misty commented as she looked around at the walls. "It's weird".

"Creepy is a better word", May commented.

"I second that" said Dawn.

Ash knocked a few times on the office door.

"Come in", said Delia.

Ash and friends entered the room. Giovanni was in there with her. Delia got up from her desk and gave them each a hug.

"We have been expecting you", she told the teenagers. "I have been on my feet all day. I just came in here to take a break. You had good timing".

"It's nice to see you again, Ms. Ketchum", said May. "You too Mr. Giovanni sir".

"Giovanni is fine", he responded. "You don't have to call me 'Mr. ' or 'sir'.

"Dad, on our way here, we ran into Jessie and James' old Pokémon Weezing and Arbok", Ash explained. "We are going to use the transporter to send them to the Oak lab so that they can pick them up".

"I always wondered what happened to those Pokémon", said Giovanni. "I was pissed when I heard that they released them. They didn't even give me an explanation".

"I want to ask them later", said Misty. "They aren't the type to just release Pokémon, at least they don't seem like they would be".

"I was thinking the same thing", said Dawn.

"We will be right back", said Ash as he left the room with Weezing and Arbok in his pocket.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Oh hey you. I wasn't expecting you to come down today", Professor Oak said to Jessie, James, Meowth, Lucy, and Annastasia when they showed up at his door. "Can I help you with something?"

"Ash found our old Arbok and Weezing", Jessie explained. "We released them a while ago, and they ran into them on the way to Delia's hospital. They are going to teleport them here once they get to the hospital".

"I see", said Professor Oak as he opened the door and invited them inside. "I remember that Weezing and Arbok. We were wondering what happened to them".

James explained the story about the poacher to Professor Oak. When he finished telling the story a red light started to blink on the teleporter.

"Incoming Pokeball", a monotone electronic voice informed them. A moment later two Pokeballs appeared before them.

"That's them!" James said excitedly as he picked one up. Jessie took the other one and they threw them together. Professor Oak sent two empty Pokeballs back to Ash.

"Charrrbock!" called Arbok as she appeared before them. The Pokémon wrapped herself around Jessie affectionately when she saw her.

"Weezing!" James and Weezing squealed at the same time. James hugged him tightly.

"I missed you so much, buddy", James cried happily.

"And I missed you my princess" Jessie said as she rubbed the top of Arbok's head.

"Poke!" Annastasia squealed.

Arbok and Weezing stared at the infant and then back at Jessie and James. A smile appeared on both of their faces. Arbok let go of Jessie so that Rumika could hand Jessie the baby.

"This is our daughter", she told the Pokémon. "Isn't she precious?"

"Charrrrr", Arbok sighed affectionately.

"Weeeeeze", sighed Weezing.

"Arbok bok Charbok", Arbok said to Weezing.

"Weeze Weezing weeze weeze", Weezing replied.

"Meowth, Lucy, what are they saying?" asked Jessie.

"Arbok says dat Weezing owes her a week supply of Pokepuffs", Meowth translated.

"How come?" asked James.

"Arbok bok Arbok", said Arbok.

"Because Weezing bet that your first kid was going to be a boy and Arbok bet that it was going to be a girl", Lucy told them.

"Huh? But we weren't even dating when we released you!" Jessie responded.

"Weezing weeze weeze Weezing", Weezing responded.

"Weezing says dat dey shipped yous anyway. Ever since de first met ya", said Meowth.

"Awe! How sweet!" Rumika exclaimed. "I didn't realize Pokémon did stuff like that".

"Arbok bok bok Arbok", said Arbok.

"Arbok's right. Weeze do dat all de time", said Meowth. "Pokémon always ship humans, especially dere masters".

Jessie and James gave their Pokémon another hug. Arbok and Weezing let Annastasia pet them.

"Nice Poke", she told the Pokémon.

"Welcome back to the family", Jessie told them. "Let's all go home. We have a lot of catching up to do".

xxxxxxxxx


	6. Photos for Friends

Photos for Friends 

**Spoiler warning:** If you are reading Stand by You, keep in mind that this takes place between chapters 40 and 41. You will want to read through chapter 40. Can be read independently, (I suppose) One shot.

 **Characters:** Todd Snap, Casey, Ash, Misty, Brock, and Meowth.

"What a great shot!" Todd exclaimed as she snapped yet another photo of Casey and her crew.

"Let me see!" the girl replied as she ran up to her photographer.

Todd handed her the camera so that she could skim the dozens of photos that he recently took of her and her Pokémon.

"Meg Meg!" Meganium exclaimed, trying to take a look at the photos.

"These photos are perfect. Thanks so much, Todd", said Casey. "I have been waiting years for this moment. Finally I have my own team of beautiful yellow and black striped Pokémon, just like the Electabuzz baseball team".

Fifteen year old Casey nodded and gave a thumbs up to her Pokémon. She had on her team a Pichu, two Pikachu, Electivire, Elekid, Helioptile, Ampharos, Umbreon, Jolteon, two Beedrill, Drowzee, Galvantula, Vespiquen, Sandslash, Kadabra, Ninjask, Mawhile, her starter Meganium, and of course, Electabuzz herself. Todd Snap, on old friend of hers, offered to come to her home in the Johto region in order to photograph her with her team of yellow and black stars.

"I never met someone who collected Pokémon based on color", Todd commented.

"Its more than just a color", Casey replied. "It's a symbol".

"Whatever you say. I think it's pretty cool either way", said Todd.

"Thanks. You should think of building up your own team", Casey told him.

"I prefer to capture them on film", he responded.

"You always say that, but what if you are attacked one day? You will have no one to protect you", she commented.

"I have Pidgeot. Even though she doesn't technically belong to me, she follows me around. She usually comes with me when I go to dangerous places. She wouldn't let anything happen to me", he explained.

"It is just so much fun to have a whole team", Casey replied.

"Meganium me", Meganium agreed.

"Anyway, I was planning on meeting a bunch of people in Saffron City for the Cherryrose Contest", said Casey. "My cousin Maggie is performing, and a whole bunch of my friends are going to be there too. Ash Ketchum, Misty Waterflower, Brock Harrison, May and Max Donohue, Iris Miller, Cilan Gaulle, Dawn Elderwood, and more. Do You think you would be interested in tagging along?"

"I'd love to. Pokémon contests are great places to take photos, and I haven't seen Ash and his friends in a while", Todd answered. "When are you heading out?"

"Tomorrow. You can stay the night if you want", she offered. "We have a guest room. My parents won't mind".

"I'd love to. Thanks Case", he responded.

Todd helped Casey return all her Pokémon and they headed into the house. The next day they took a train to Saffron City.

"That's them", Misty said as she pointed across the train station.

Misty, Brock and Ash walked to the Saffron City train station in order to pick up Casey and Todd. Misty spotted them getting off the train.

"Piiiika!" Pikachu exclaimed when he saw the two teens and Meganium approaching them.

"You look great", Misty said to Casey.

"Yeah. You look like you've grown a few inches since the last time we saw you", Brock commented.

"Thanks", said Casey.

"Its nice to see you again, Todd", said Ash.

"You too Ash, Misty, and Brock", he responded.

"Me me", Meganium said to Pikachu.

"Pika pi pika", the Pokémon responded.

"Meg gan", she answered.

"Zu zu zu zu!" Azuril laughed.

"I wish Meowth were here", said Misty. "Its always nice to have him around to translate. Jessie and James don't realize how lucky they are sometimes".

"Meowth? Jessie and James? Are you saying you want Team Rocket to be here?" asked Todd.

"Oh", said Misty. "We have been allies with them for a while now. I forgot that most of our old friends don't know yet".

"How about we get out of here and we can talk on the way to the Pokémon Center", Brock suggested.

"Sure", they responded.

Casey, Todd, and Meganium followed Misty, Azuril, Ash, Pikachu, and Brock out of the station. When they got to the street, Misty started to explain.

"Jessie, James, and Meowth no longer work for Team Rocket", she informed them.

"Not surprising they got fired", Casey commented. "Didn't you say that they always failed?"

"What do you mean by 'allies' though?" Todd asked the trio.

"They are traveling with us. They are doing Pokémon contests and gym battles", said Ash. "They are friends with my mother and Professor Oak too. The three of them worked for them for a while".

"And they haven't tried anything sneaky the whole time they have been with us", said Misty. "And it's been months".

"So you made up and became friends, just like that?" asked Casey. "After all the years they spent trying to steal your Pokémon?"

"Well, sorta, things are really complicated between us. We all have a lot going on", Misty replied.

"So where are they right now? Are they just hanging out with the rest of your group?" Todd asked.

"Ummm, well, you see", Misty started.

"That is where the complicated stuff kicks in", Brock told them.

"You are going to have to be more specific if you want us to follow what you are talking about", said Casey.

"Meganium me meg", said Meganium.

"They just had a baby", Misty blurted.

"Jessie and James? Really?" Casey asked incredulously.

"Are you for real?" asked Todd.

"It's true" said Brock.

"Pika pika", said Pikachu.

"I figured there was something going on between those two", said Todd.

"That's sorta cute, I guess", said Casey. "So I guess that means they are married now"

"Actually no", said Misty.

"Yeah, the baby was kinda a surprise", said Brock.

"Oh", Casey and Todd said in unison.

"The poor thing is really sick though" said Misty. "She was just born a few days ago. Meowth told us that they will have to spend a while in the hospital".

Casey and Todd were not sure how to respond.

"Ash is awfully quiet", Casey commented.

"Yeah, can we change the subject please?" he asked.

"Pika pi pika", said Pikachu. 

"We are here anyway", said Brock.

The five teenagers and their three Pokémon entered the lobby of the Pokémon center. Dawn, Iris, and Cilan were playing a game of cards. A few of their Pokémon were out with them.

"Hi, I'm Dawn", said Dawn as she stood up and shook Todd and Casey's hands. "Its nice to meet you. This is my partner, Piplup".

"Piplup lup", the Pokémon greeted them.

"I'm Iris, and this is Axew", Iris said to Todd.

"Xew Axew", the Axew chanted.

"And I am Cilan", said Cilan. "This is my partner Pansiege".

"Pan pan", said the Pokémon.

"Its great to finally meet you in person", Todd explained. "Casey and Ash have told be a lot about you all".

"We heard a lot about you too. You should come meet the rest of our group", Dawn told him.

"They are out in the yard behind the building", said Iris. "Follow us".

The group of teenagers and Pokémon followed Iris out back. On their way out, Todd asked Brock about his school and his life in Saffron City.

"My apartment isn't far from here, so I am able to take a few hours here and there to hang out with everyone", he explained. "After they leave Saffron though, I am going to have to go back to work without them. I really enjoy the work though. I am learning a lot everyday".

"Here we are", Iris interrupted.

Bonnie, Max, Meowth, Serena, Clement, Drew, May, Duplica, and all of their Pokémon were hanging out in the yard. Some were playing, others training, and a few just sat and relaxed. After exchanging greetings with everyone, Todd came up with an idea.

"While we are all here, let's take a group photo", he suggested.

"Okay", a bunch of them replied.

"Us too?" asked Lucy.

"A talking Purrloin?" asked Casey. "How cool!"

"Me meg!" Meganium exclaimed.

"I have to get a picture of you…." Todd started.

"Do me a favor and leave me alone", Lucy told her latest fans.

"Uh sure", they responded grudgingly.

"Ok, tallest in the back, shortest in the front!" Todd instructed. "Make sure everyone can see the camera, this way you will know that I am getting your face in the picture".

The group squished together.

"Deeeeeee neeeee!" Dedenne cried as Drew accidentally stepped on his tail.

The small rodent was so surprised and scared that it accidentally shocked everyone present.

"Well their goes my perfect hair", Dawn commented as she took out a brush to help flatten her now puffed-out locks. A few of the other girls did the same.

Once everyone was fixed, Todd set the camera up on a timer and ran to join the group.

"Cheese!" they all sang as the camera clicked a few times.

"How did it come out?" Bonnie asked as Todd went to check the roll.

"Nice. I will make sure you all get a copy", he responded.

"You should get one of each our Pokémon performing", said May. "That would be so cool".

"Definitely", said Drew. "I would pay for that".

"Oh gee. You don't have to pay me, but I would be happy to be of service", Todd responded.

They spent the rest of the day chatting for a while. Todd and Casey talked to Meowth about Jessie and James.

"Dat's her right dere", said Meowth as he held up a photo for them to see. "Dey took dis picture de day she was born. I just saw her dis morning. Not much has changed since den".

The picture was of Jessie, James, Acorn, Aliyah, and the baby.

"Does she have a name yet?" Casey asked.

"Not yet. I dink dere gonna give her some movie-star name dough, knowin' dem", he replied.

"When she gets older and is strong enough to leave the hospital, I would love to take a few pictures of her with those Eevee. It would look really cute", Todd suggested.

"I bet dey would like dat", Meowth responded.

"So are you three really going straight?" Casey asked suspiciously. "You have fooled us in the past".

"Hey, if yous don't believe us, just ask Officer Jenny, or Delia, or Professor Oak. Dey will tell ya", he retorted.

"Well, something about this picture makes me want to believe you", said Todd.

"You know what they say, a picture is worth a thousand words", said Casey.

"Dat's right. But me dinks dat dis one here is worth a million", Meowth concluded.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx


	7. The Lying Type

The Lying type

 **Spoiler Warning** : If you are reading Stand by You, you might want to get at least up to Chapter 32. This is a cut scene from later on in the fic, but the spoiler warning doesn't apply. No spoilers for the anime.

 **Characters:** Lucy (original character), Meowth of Team Rocket, a Pansiege, and some Liepard.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

***Flashback Dream***

Her earliest experience was the sensation of darkness and pain. When the newborn Purrloin first opened her eyes, she was immediately assaulted with freezing rain and falling chunks of ice. .

"Purrrrrrr!" she shrieked as heavy hale and rain plummeted from the cloud-filled skies.

She got up on her wobbly four legs and sped forward, hoping to seek some shelter from the storm.

"Purrloin Purrloin purrrr!" She cried as she ran frantically through the forest.

Her desperate calls caught the attention of a friendly Pansiege, who was nestled inside a hollow tree.

"Pan pan Pansiege!" he called out to her. " _You there, stop!"_

The Purrloin stopped running and looked up at the Pansiege.

"Siege Pansiege pan pan pan", he explained. " _Come into my nest. It is nice and warm. You are going to get sick if you keep running around in this weather"._

The Purrloin dashed into the nest. Since it was located inside a tree, it was warm and dry. The Pansiege took a rag out from under some leaves and started to dry her off.

"Pan Pansiege pan?" he asked. " _Why were you running out in the rain like that?"_

"Pur purrloin pur pur purrrrrr", she explained. _"I just hatched out of my egg. I have no where else to go. I was all alone when I woke up"._

"Pansiege Pansiege pan, pan siege", he replied. " _You poor thing. Don't worry. I will help you find your mother. I think I know who she is"._

"Pur pur", she responded. " _Thank you"._

The small Purrloin spent the first few days of her life in the nest, being taken care of by the Pansiege. On her fourth day, they decided to go out and look for her mother. The kitten followed her adopted parent through the Absenstia Natural Park until they came across a clan of Liepard. There were about ten of them, and they were munching on some fruit from the forest.

"Pansiege pan", said Pansiege as he pointed to the chief Liepard. _"I think that one is your mother"._

"Purrr loin loin loin!" the kitten exclaimed as she ran towards her birth mother. _"I have been searching for you! I am so glad I found you!"_

The Liepard was not pleased to see the kitten. She turned away from her and continued eating. The other Liepard did the same.

"Purrloin pur?" the kitten asked her mother. " _What is wrong? Aren't you happy to see me?_ "

"Liiiieeepaaarrrd", her mother responded. "Of course not".

"Pur Purrloin Purrloin?" asked the Purrloin. " _Why, what did I do wrong?"_

"Lie lie par Liepard", she hissed. " _I have no use for weaklings like you. I only want strong Pokémon in my clan_ ".

"Pan pan Pansiege!" Pansiege protested. _"But you are her mother! You have to raise her to be strong"._

"Liepar llliiieeee", the Liepard responded. _"I can think of much better things to do with my time"._

The little Purrloin burst into tears and ran towards the clan of Liepard. She grabbed onto her mother and pleaded for her to accept her.

"LIEPARD!" the mother shouted as she scratched the Purrloin across the face.

The kitten continued to cry while her mother and the other Liepard laughed in her face. The Pansiege helped her up and together they walked back to the nest that they shared.

"Pan pan Pansiege", said Pansiege. " _You can stay with me as long as you want"._

"Purrloin purr", the kitten responded. " _Thank you. I really owe you"._

"Pansiege Pansiege. Pa pa siege siege", he replied. " _Don't worry about it. Don't let what they said get to you. I think you are awesome"._

"Loin loin loin", she resplied. " _You are the best. I will be grateful to you forever"._

The Pansiege spent the next few months raising the abandoned Purrloin. He took her everywhere with him and made sure she had plenty of food and water. He even taught her a few attacks, which turned out to be very useful. She surprised him with her amazing skill, talent, and determination. About two weeks after her first confrontation with her mother, the Purrloin was attacked by the clan of Liepard. The kitten fought back, much to their discontent. From then on the Liepard would show up every once in a while and harass her and her Pansiege guardian. They would invade their nest, shout a few insults, steal their food/medicine, beat them up, and then leave them without any resources. One day, when the kitten was about six months old, Pansiege decided that he had had enough. He decided to confront the clan of Liepard and to get them to leave him and the kitten alone once and for all. He took the young Purrloin with him.

"Pansiege Siege SIEGE!" Pansiege shouted at the entrance of the cave where the clan was known to reside _. "Come out! We need to settle this dispute between us"._

The chief Leipard waltzed out of the cave and glared at the Pansiege and Purrloin.

"Liiiiiieeeepppaaaarrrddd", she hissed nastily. " _Go away, and take that weakling of a Purrloin with you_ ".

"Purrrrlllooiiinnn", the Purrloin hissed back. _"I am not weak, let me show you_ ".

"Liepard lie", she replied. "Lie lie pard, Liepard lie". " _I will let you battle one of my toughest clan-mates. If you beat him, I will leave you alone. My clan will never harass or hurt either of you again_ ".

"Pur lo?" asked the Purrloin. " _Do you promise_?"

"Liepard par. Liepar par par", she responded. " _Yes, I promise. I will even accept you into my clan_ ".

The Purrloin looked at her Pansiege-father. He nodded his approval and the young Purrloin braced herself for battle. Liepard called out her strongest clan-mate.

"Lieppppppparrrrrddddd!" he yelled menacingly as he flaunted his razor sharp claws.

The kitten gulped and then brandished her own set of claws. She gave a battle cry and ran towards him. He reciprocated her actions.

"Pan Pan!" cheered Pansiege. " _You can do it_!"

The Liepard could not dodge the kitten's unanticipated quick attack and as a result received a collection of fury swipes to the face. Her opponent cried out in pain and grabbed his face.

"Lieparrrrrddd!" her mother cursed. " _Keep battling, you weakling_!"

"Puuuurrrrrrrrlllllooooiiiinnnn!" she screamed as she delivered another series of fury swipes. This time her opponent was expecting it, and hit her with a shadowball to interrupt her assault.

"Pan pa pa pa Pansiege Panseige!" cried Pansiege. " _I believe in you, you've come so far. Just believe in yourself and you can do anything_!"

"Pur Purrloin", she replied. " _Right, I can do this_ ".

The kitten powered up her own shadowball, which collided with that of the Leipard. The two attacks cancelled out one another. The Purrloin immediately shot out another one. Lucky for her, she was quicker than her opponent. The shadowball hit him head on.

"Pansiege pan pa pa pan!" cheered Panseige. " _I knew you could do it. I am so proud!"_

The Liepard got up, and though he was weak, continued to battle. He powered up a Mega punch.

"Pa pa pa!" yelled Pansiege. " _Dodge it_!"

"PURRLOINNNNNN!" she cried as she jumped the attack. Without hesitation, she launched a mega punch of her own.

"Liepard lie!" her mother exclaimed. " _I cannot believe that brat already knows mega punch….."._

The Purrloin's mega punch knocked out the opposing Liepard. Pansiege clapped wildly and jumped up and down in excitement. The Purrloin ran up to him and embraced him in a tight hug. After a few seconds she turned to face her mother.

"Purrloin pur pur pur", she told her. " _I won the battle, now you can never bother us again"._

"Liepard lie lie Liepard par", she responded. " _You're right. From now on we have a truce. We will never go near your little Pansiege friend again, and you are welcome to join my clan"._

"Purr purrrrllloin", the Purrloin said to her Pansiege father. " _I guess this is good bye"._

"Pan pa pa pansiiiieeegggeee", he told her. " _I will visit you. This is where you belong now"._

"Purrloin purrrrloin pur", she replied. " _Thank you for everything you have done for me. I love you"_.

"Pa pa pa siege", the Pansiege responded. " _I love you too. Take care of yourself"._

"Loin loin Purrloin", she whispered. _"I will. You take care too"._

The Pansiege gave the Purrloin one last hug and then took off into the forest. She watched him scurry away. When he was completely out of sight, she turned to her new family.

"Liepar pard pard", said her mother. "Pard Par par". " _Go inside the cave and don't come out until we say so. We have some business to take care off_ ".

"Loin Purrloin?" she asked. " _What do you mean_?"

One of the Liepard pushed her back into the cave and hissed at her to stay back. The rest of the clan ran off in the direction of the Pansiege. The one who pushed her stayed behind to make sure she didn't try to chase after them.

"Purrrrrllloinn?!"she screamed. " _What are they doing?!"_

"Pard Liepard", he responded. " _None of your business_ ".

Fearing the worse, the kitten decided to fury swipe the Liepard so that she could distract him long enough for her to be able to escape his guard. She ran after the other Liepard.

" _Don't worry, I'm coming, Pansiege_ ", she thought to herself as she ran. " _I won't let them hurt you"._

The Purrloin found the clan stopped in front of the hollow tree where Pansiege's nest resided.

"Purrloin purrrr?" she asked tearfully as she pushed through the clan. " _What have you done with him_?"

The worried Purrloin stopped when she got to her mother. The Purrloin screamed at what she found. Lying in front of her mother was Pansiege, clearly dead. She broke down in hysterical tears as two Liepard grabbed onto her to prevent her from running.

"Lie par par pard", said her mother. " _We told you not to follow us"._

Purrrrrr?!" the Purrloin cried. " _Why?!"_

"Pard pard Liepard par Liepard", she explained. " _You are really powerful. If we kept this Pansiege alive, you might have decided to go back to him. We couldn't have that"._

"Purrrrrrllloin Purrloin!" she shriked. " _You promised you wouldn't hurt him!"_

"Lie par lie", she responded. " _I lied_ ".

"Loin pur pur loin lo!" she cried. " _I can't believe how cruel you are…..I don't want to be a part of this clan!"_

"Lie par par ar", her mother responded. " _Its too late. You are one of us now"._

The Liepard clan dragged her away, back to the cave. The Purrloin kitten was placed in a makeshift cell so that she couldn't escape. The Liepard didn't want a powerful Purrloin like her competing with them for the limited resources of Unova, so they kept her imprisoned and gave her very little food and water. She had nothing but a pile of leaves to keep her warm. But the clever little feline had an escape plan.

Everyday, when no one was paying attention to her, she dug. She went a little deeper each day, and covered the entrance with a pile of leaves so that no one would see what she was up to. One day she managed to finish a tunnel leading out of the cave.

" _Finally, I did it_ ", she thought to herself. " _Now I have to leave here, quick"._

The Purrloin snuck onto a plane headed for the Kanto region.

" _I will never trust another Liepard for as long as I live_ ", she vowed to herself. " _They are all murderers and liars. I will start a new life in Kanto. I will get a new name and learn all sorts of new skills. I will become the most powerful Purrloin in the world"._

***Dream ended***

"Ahh!" Lucy screamed as she sat up abruptly.

"Youch. Watch where yere hittin'", Meowth complained. Lucy had socked him in her sleep.

Lucy looked around. She and Meowth were just asleep on the roof of Team Rocket's HQ when her nightmare woke the two of them up.

" _It was just a dream_ ", she reminded herself. " _That happened a long time ago, it doesn't matter now_ ".

Meowth watched her as she stared off into space. She had a worried expression on her face, something that was out of character for the normally tough-as-nails Purrloin.

"You ok?" he asked awkwardly. "Yous feelin' alright?"

"I just…..It's complicated", Lucy responded as she curled back into a ball and shut her eyelids.

"I'm fairly intelligent", he told her. "I bet I can handle it. But yous don't gotta tell me if yous don't wanna".

Lucy sighed and looked at his face. It was genuinely concerned. It was a rare sight, to see someone caring for her, though the experience has been becoming increasingly more common as she traveled with Meowth and his gang. Meowth had been asking about her hatred for Liepard for a while now. She decided it was time to open up.

"I had a nightmare", she started.

"Oh. Judging by de way yous were tossin' and turnin' in yere sleep, I'd say it was pretty realistic", he responded.

"It was", Lucy responded.

Lucy went on to explain the dream in detail. She was careful to make it sound like a dream, and not a real-life experience.

"Dat was sad. No wonder yous were freakin' out", Meowth commented when she had finished the story. "But it's just a story, right?"

"Um…..right", she replied. She avoided eye contact with Meowth, who continued to study her face.

"Dere is something else, isn't dere?" he asked her.

"Meowth…"Lucy sighed.

"Yous were dat Purrloin, weren't ya? De Purrloin in de story. Dat's why yous hate Liepard so much. Its like yous told me before. Yere mother didn't accept you. I didn't know dat she was dat cruel dough. Yous told me dat she scratched you and called you weak, but I didn't know she did dose other horrible dings", Meowth responded.

Lucy could feel hot tears starting to swell in her eyes.

" _I can't cry, not in front of Meowth_ ", she told herself.

Meowth sensed that she was getting worked up over something and put an arm around her. She jumped slightly at his touch, not expecting such an intimate action from Meowth.

"I told yous I wasn't stupid", he reminded her. "I can tell when yere upset".

Lucy was too upset and embarrassed at her own emotional breakdown to respond. Instead she just rested her head, face down, in Meowth lap. Meowth couldn't tell if she was crying, but he assumed she was.

"It's ok. I ain't gonna judge yous fere cryin', so yous don't gotta hide it 'round me", he told her. "Heck, I cry all de time".

Lucy stopped crying. After a few seconds she sat up and shared a smile with Meowth.

"I'm ready to go back to sleep", she told him. "Thanks for being…..well…you. Its really nice to have someone to be there for you".

Meowth wasn't sure how to react. Lucy had to know by now that he loved her, but whether or not she was going to be willing and able to open herself up to a real relationship with him was still a mystery. He decided that for now he was content with just being her friend, and standing by her whenever she needed him. He trusted her, because unlike the Liepard from her past, she was not the lying type.

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	8. Building Dreams

Building Dreams 

**Characters:** Delia, Giovanni, random Rocket grunts

 **Spoilers:** Best to Finish  Stand by You before reading this. Takes place towards the end, before the epilogue. No spoilers for the anime. One shot

When Delia agreed that she would take over the Morgan Mansion and transform it into a Pokémon hospital, she had no idea just how much work it would entail. Luckily Giovanni was on her side, and seeing just how much work needed to be done, he immediately ordered one hundred and fifty of his grunts to come and help him and Delia transform the house into the Pokémon hospital she always dreamt of. As the Rocket assistants moved boxes, rewired electric circuits, and carried medical equipment to different parts of the house, Delia thought back to Jessie and James' proposal:

" _I want you to take the mansion",_ James told her for umpteenth time. " _Jessie and I want to buy your home in Pallet. We will live there and take over your restaurant and motel. That mansion is no place to raise a child. Really, we insist. We will give you as much money as you want as well as everything in the house, save for a few personal items"._

" _It's just that I feel guilty",_ she told them. " _Don't get me wrong, I would love the space, but it just isn't fair to you two. My house isn't worth that much, and neither is the Pallet House"._

" _Pleeeeaaaassseeee?"_ Jessie and James begged, giving her the puppy dog eyes.

 _"Well, if you insist…",_ she finally agreed.

Now here she was, two months later, transforming the six story and over 200,000 square foot living space into a working Pokémon hospital.

"What do you plan on doing with all these family heirlooms?" Domino asked as she placed a box of fine china at her feet. "There are literally millions of dollars worth of china, silverware, cookware, and glassware. Hell, we didn't even get to the jewelry, art, furniture, musical instruments, sports equipment, Pokémon accessories, clothing, bedding, or any of there thousands of miscellaneous trinkets yet, and there is even more of that stuff. I imagine a billion dollar's worth at least."

"James says he doesn't want it. They are getting money from the family's stocks and bonds. Jessie will probably want some of the jewelry and clothes, but James said that they do not want any of the other things", Delia responded.

"Seriously? But those two are so damn selfish. Jessie has robbed almost everyone at headquarters at some point", Domino replied.

"I think that they are at a point where they just don't know what to do with all the money. Don't forget, James also inherited the family's multiple summer cottages", Delia informed her. "He says he especially doesn't want the art or furniture; looking at it brings him too many bad memories".

"Ha! As if living life as the only son of billionaires could really be that awful…", Domino sneered.

Domino left the room to fetch some more boxes from the kitchen. A few other Rockets came to load the china into the moving van. Delia was going to put everything in the basement of Team Rocket headquarters until she could figure out what to do with it all. Most of the stuff she was going to sell so that it could pay for the medical equipment, but she still wanted to look through it all first and keep anything that might be too rare or unique to sell. Things like James' great-great grandfather's solid gold, diamond-studded, handmade chess set and the two hundred year old grand piano adorned with rare and valuable gems seemed a bit too special to just sell at an auction. Also, once the resentment that James felt towards his family had a few years to wane, Delia knew that there might be a few items he wish he'd saved. She picked up a box of silverware and carried it to the van.

"Delia, what are you doing with that?" asked Giovanni as he walked up to her. He took the box away from her and placed it in the van himself. "I told you I would have my agents take care of all of this".

"I just wanted to help. Its not like there is much more for me to do. No house, restaurant, hotel, children, Pokémon, or garden to take care off", she replied.

Giovanni had hired agents to take care of almost everything for Delia. And now that Ash was out of the house and her business was in the hands of Jessie and James, she found that there wasn't much to do until the hospital was ready to open.

"You're anxious", he remarked. "Because you don't have anything to do".

"Yes", Delia replied.

"Then why don't you and me take a well earned vacation?", he suggested. "We can go anywhere you want".

"That sounds nice but there is so much work to do here!" she exclaimed. "We have to get all these things boxed up properly so that they aren't damaged, then we have to put them into storage, then we have to find buyers, sell them, buy new medical equipment, refurnish the new place, I would like to redecorate some of the rooms…."

Giovanni put a finger on her lip to silence her. A few Rockets stopped to look, but they quickly went back to work when their boss gave them a death glare.

"That is why I have all these workers here", he told her quietly. "I don't pay them to go on vacation. That is what we, as co-bosses, do".

"You consider me a co-boss?" she replied, clearly surprised.

"I'll explain more on what I mean by that later", he responded. "The point is I pay them to do as I say. Let's get out of here. We can take a cruise…."

"A cruise does sounds nice….but are you sure?" she interrupted.

"Positive", said Giovanni. "I haven't vacationed in a while. And I haven't vacationed with you in…well about eighteen years".

Delia looked around. Giovanni assured her that the Rockets would take care of everything, and do it all properly. They were all under surveillance too, so if something went missing, Giovanni would know which one of them was responsible.

"Ok, I'll do it. A cruise sounds nice. But only a few days. I definitely want to help sort through they stuff before we start selling it", she responded. "I might want to keep some of it".

"Of course", he replied. "I let my down-unders what our plans are".

Though she was hesitant to admit it, Delia greatly missed her days as Giovanni's Queen. She never really wanted to go, and she regretted leaving him the moment Ash was born. But what was she supposed to do? Show up on his doorstep a year later with a newborn and tell him that he was the father? She didn't know if it was fear or pride that stopped her from doing just that all those years ago. Now she had neither her pride nor fear, and there was nothing standing in her way of happiness this time.

Xxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Delia was in her room at the Team Rocket headquarters packing some last minute items into her suitcase. She was just finishing up her make up and jewelry when someone knocked on the door.

"Ms. Delia Ketchum?" a young Rocket grunt asked as she opened the door.

"That is me", she replied sweetly. "And who are you?"

The young Rocket blushed. He should have known that Giovanni's lady friend would be attractive, but he wasn't expecting someone as stunning as Delia to answer the door.

"I'm Christopher, ma'am. Mr. Giovanni asked me to take your bags down to the jet", the agent responded.

"Oh, well that is awfully nice of you", she replied, helping Christopher lift her suitcase onto the luggage cart.

"It is no problem at all Miss", he replied, still blushing.

"Thank you so much", Delia called after him as the Rocket ran off with her stuff.

"Bye Mimey", she told her Mr. Mime. "Don't forget that I will be back in five days. I left Professor Oak, Giovanni, Ash, Misty, Jessie, James, and my cell phone numbers out. They are on the dresser. You can go wherever you want, just don't go somewhere you've never been to before without a buddy".

"Mime Mime!" Mr. Mime responded, giving her a hug good-bye.

Delia blew him a few kisses as she headed down the hall. She was bringing her Garados with her, in case they were attacked, but Mr. Mime hated being kept in a Pokeball. She figured it would be better for all of them if he stayed behind. He didn't like the ocean anyway.

"You look beautiful", Giovanni commented her as she sat down next to him in the private jet. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Thank you. And yes, I have everything I need", she replied.

The two of them talked and laughed while they flew over the Toka sea, which was located west of Kanto and Johto. They would be taking a cruise from the tip of Toucan Island all the way to the Viridian City Port, and spending two whole days on the island paradise known to all as the Toka Isles.

"It's so much nicer to come here for pleasure rather than on business", Giovanni told her.

Delia smiled. "So that means there is no business motive behind taking me here?"

"Nope. Just a vacation", he responded.

"Purrrrrrrr sian", his Persian purred in approval.

Twenty-four hours later, the two of them were tanning atop a private deck located on one of the most expensive cruise liners in existence.

"I've waited years for this", Delia commented as she opened her eyes to stare into the clear blue sky. Seabirds and various water type Pokémon floated passed them as they sailed towards their first island location.

"For what exactly?" Giovanni asked. "Me or the vacation?"

"To be honest I was talking about the vacation, but I suppose I've waited years for you too, now that I think about it", Delia replied.

"Are you happy?" he asked, his tone reverting back to its normal seriousness.

"Yes, and what makes you think I wouldn't be?" she asked him.

"I just want to make sure. Is this what you want? Being part of Team Rocket, having your Pokémon hospital, living with me…." His voice trailed off.

"Oh yeah, that whole 'co-boss' business you brought up earlier", Delia responded. "We need to talk about that".

"What about it?" he asked nervously. His tone surprised even him; the Rocket boss hadn't been this nervous in years, and when was nervous he never showed it.

"I want you to know that I was happy in Pallet Town, and I loved running my own business, but I think I was ready for a change. I was kind of lonely there, especially after Ash was gone. I really do enjoy living with you at the Team Rocket headquarters. It is nice seeing so many people everyday. Back in Pallet Town, sometimes days would go by where the only people I would see you be Professor Oak and a handful of customers and maybe a neighbor or two", Delia explained. "I just wanted to make it clear that I am feeling good about this".

"So you are happy then", said Giovanni. "With Team Rocket, I mean".

"Yes. But I need to know. How come you called me a co-boss?" she asked him.

"I just thought that since you are not an agent, and you and I are together that maybe you would consider the title", he replied. "It just means that you would get to boss people around the way I do, and people will have to give you their respect unless they want to lose their jobs".

"Sounds appealing", she said in a semi-sarcastic tone. "I'll take it, if it makes you happy. I suppose there is nothing to lose".

That wasn't exactly the answer he was hoping for, but at least she didn't reject him.

The next few days went by similarly. While the two of them were tanning, snorkeling, hot-tubbing, or resting after an island hike, he would casually bring up the subject of them working together, living together, sharing titles, sharing names….and Delia was trying to figure out what he was up to. On the last night of their cruise, they stood out on the balcony of the cabin they shared, watching the sunset while sipping pina coladas.

"I have to ask", Delia started as he gazed off into the horizon. She twirled the straw of her drink in her hand. "Why are you so intent on living with me?"

Giovanni turned to look into her eyes. He was intimidated by the fact that she was staring directly at him, studying every sign of emotion on his face as if it were an open book. She was the only one who did that to him, and he wasn't sure if he loved her or hated her for it.

"I just wanted to give it a shot. I was going to ask you to marry me", he admitted. "Eighteen years ago, that is. Before you disappeared".

Giovanni turned away to gaze back into the sea. Delia followed his lead.

"I didn't think you would want me anymore, after I got pregnant", she confessed. "I was so young, scared, and confused. I still don't know if I made the right choice, but at the time, it felt like the best option was for me to just leave rather than to stay and complicate your life. I knew you weren't going to give up being the boss of Team Rocket to help me raise a child, and I didn't want to raise Ash there. It was violent, and loud, and we were in danger all of the time. Team Rocket was doing bad things and had a reputation to reflect it".

"You are right. I'm sorry for that. I think about it everyday, and I know I can't blame you for leaving. Sometimes I can't believe you came back. It seems so unreal, even all these months later", he responded. "But now, if I asked you to stay and I meant it, would you?"

They both turned to look at each other again. Delia knew where this was going. But then again, she might have known the whole time.

"I would", she responded. "Do you mean it though. Are you sure?"

"Delia, I want you to marry me", he finally admitted. He knelt down and handed her a little black box. "I do mean it, I am sure. Please marry me".

Delia breathed a sigh of relief. These last few weeks, all those confessions, apologies, and, promises; the dinners, presents, vacation, it all led up to this. They were finally exactly where she wanted them to be. The place she wanted them to be for the last twenty years. She knew what she needed to do.

"I will", she said, taking the diamond ring in her hand.

Giovanni smiled, stood up, and helped her slide the ring onto her finger.

"This looks like it cost a fortune", she commented, observing the ring.

"It did, but luckily I have multiple fortunes", he replied.

The looked out into the horizon just in time to watch the sun disappear into the ocean. Two Pokémon, a Volbeat and Illumise, flew together into the sun just as it dipped below the Earth. Delia and Giovanni stood in the darkness and held one another.

"What do you want to do now?" Giovanni asked her after several moments had gone by.

"Let's go to bed", she replied, walking back into the cabin.

"Right", he answered, shutting the balcony door behind him.

Two days later they arrived back at the mansion. Delia decided to keep the ring on her dresser back at headquarters, since she wanted to tell her close friends and family about the engagement before a bunch of Rockets whom she hardly knew found out. Giovanni no longer gave her a hard time about helping with the all the renovations and packing, seeing as it made her happy to contribute to the massive project that was ultimately her own.

"In a few months this place will be completely transformed", Delia said to Mr. Mime, who had come to help them with all of the work. "James won't even be able to recognize it".

"Mime Mr. Mime!" Mr. Mime chanted.

"And you and I will live here too", she told the Pokémon. "And Giovanni".

"Mi Mime Mr. Mime?" the Pokémon asked.

"Yep", she replied, smiling at the Pokémon. "And there will be other Pokémon here as well. We will take care of them all".

Mr. Mime smiled at Delia and the two of them continued to work alongside the dozens of Rocket grunts that were helping them box up the clothing, toiletries, trinkets, art, and bedsets from James' old bedroom.

"I don't know if he will want any of this stuff, but we might as well ask", Delia told a few of the Rockets who seemed to be guiding the others. "He did say that his bedroom was one of his sanctuaries. And he might want to save some things for his daughter".

"We will make sure this stuff makes it to Pallet Town", one of the higher-ranked Rockets responded.

Delia didn't notice that Giovanni was watching her as she made this exchange. He walked up to her and pulled her aside.

"Everything alright?" she asked as he led her into an empty room.

Rather than answer her question, he handed her a letter. She took it from him and read it:

 _Dear Mom and Dad,_

 _I hope everything is going well at the Morgan Mansion. If you need any help, just let us know. I plan on starting my career as a frontier brain here in Cerulean City soon, and Misty has already resumed her post as the Cerulean City Gym leader. We are both super busy but can always make time for you, and we decided to take Saturdays and Sundays off. Anyway, Mom, I am writing you two a letter because I remember one time you told me that there was nothing you enjoyed more than getting letters from your loved ones. Since we are all together now (sorta) I thought it would be a good time to write one to you. I love you both so much and I am really glad that I finally got to become part of your life, dad. I will see you next holiday, maybe sooner._

 _Love,_

 _Ash and Pikachu._

 _P.S. Misty and all of our other Pokémon also say hi_

"How sweet!" Delia exclaimed. "That's my Ash, he can be such a sweetheart at times".

"This letter was addressed to me", said Giovanni. "Clearly he wanted to make sure that I read it too. It's the first time he ever communicated to me like this. I was really surprised….."

"And you had to tell me right away", Delia finished.

"Yes", he admitted.

Delia kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll give him a phone call later and let you know how much you appreciate it", she told him as she walked out of the room.

"Wait!" he called after her. "I'll call him myself".

"I bet he will like that", said Delia. "I talk to him all the time. I know he would be pleasantly surprised to hear from you instead".

"I never knew my father", Giovanni confessed. "I know what it is like to not have one. I should have been there for him all these years. I should have tracked you down. I should have made sure you were ok, that there was a reason that you just disappeared. I was wrong and I want to try and make up for it, even though I know deep down that I never can".

"Don't be so hard on yourself", Delia replied. "It's like Ash said. We are all together, sort of, now. At least we are in each other's lives. Ash is ready to put this behind him. He's already forgiven me".

"You did the right thing, I believe", Giovanni said quietly. "Raising Ash away from Team Rocket. It's true Team Rocket was corrupt, and I was doing nothing to stop it. He is a good kid and he has lots of nice friends. We can never know how he would have ended up if you stayed, or how you and I would have ended up, but I'm am glad that this happened. I'm glad you came back. I'm glad you let me finally meet him".

Giovanni embraced her. She was caught off guard, as Giovanni did not usually hug her like that, at least not in public. Though they were technically alone, a Rocket could walk into the hall at any moment and see them, which would definitely embarrass the tough-hearted boss. For once he did not seem the least bit concerned about the possibility of someone catching him acting human.

"Let's go back to work", he whispered. "We have a dream to build".

xxxxxxxxxx


	9. A Long Awaited Victory

Reflections

Rated K+ or T, depending on you style. Takes place right before chapter 1 of Stand by You. No spoilers

Characters: Jessie, James, Meowth,

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She froze in disbelief in front of the cheering crowd. Hundreds, no, thousands of people were staring at her. Not at the stage, or her Pokémon, or the bright lights and attractions, but at her. Because she did it.

"Congratulations, Miss Jessilee. You are the now the official Kalos Queen", said Aria as she handed her tiara over to Jessie. "You beat me. You earned it".

"Wobbbbbba Wobbufet!" Wobbufet wobbed happily as he received his own tiara.

"Hahahaha yes!" She cheered, the realness of the situation finally catching up with her. "I am Jessilee! Your Kalos Queen!"

"I can't believe she actually did it", said Meowth, who was making his way through the audience on James' shoulders. "Without any cheatin' or nothin'. It just ain't de Jessie way".

"Meowth! You can't say that to her! Remember, we knew all along she would make it", James replied, giving Inkay a wink.

"Ink, Inkay!" Inkay responded with a nod.

"K. I just hope dis Kalos Queen business don't go to her head", Meowth muttered.

Meowth was happy for her, of course. Besides, it was good for him too. Though there wasn't a big cash prize for the Kalos Queen, Jessie could expect to receive a lot of respect. The people of Kalos were bound to shower her and her cohorts with free food, free rent, and maybe even some presents that they could bring back to the boss. Plus, she would be in a better mood, which was always a good thing for the male members of their group.

"Jessilee!" James called brightly when he saw Jessie's face.

"James! Meowth!" she answered back, leaving the stage to run towards them.

Meowth clung to James' hair as he ran up to Jessie and all six members of their team embraced. James finally let go of Jessie after a few minutes, and Pokémon followed his lead. Jessie held both of his hands in hers. They looked each other in the eyes and then leaned their foreheads together.

"Um….just remindin' yous dat I'm still here" Meowth informed them. He was still clinging to James, though he had toppled off of his shoulders and was holding onto his back.

"Wobba wob!" added Wobbufet.

James and Jessie snapped out of their daze and brought their attention back to their environment.

"I knew you would do it all along, Jessie-sama" , said James. "Or Queen Jess, if you prefer".

"Queen Jess is fine", she replied.

Unbeknownst to the trio and their Pokémon, a wealthy restaurant and hotel owner was observing their exchange. He looked to be about the same age as James' parents. He came up to the pair before they could walk away.

"My name is Armaldo Hemingway", the man said. "and this is my Mawhile, Brennen. It is an honor to get to see you, my lady".

The man bowed before her, then Gourgeist, then Wobbufet.

"Can we help you?" James asked.

"Actually, I came to help you", he responded. "It would be an honor if you joined me for a free dinner and night in my hotel."

"Dat will be awesome!" Meowth piped up.

"I talking Meowth! What a treasure!" He exclaimed.

James reach down and covered Meowth's mouth. "Shh, we are trying to lay low, remember?" he reminded his partner.

"Well its too late now", Meowth remarked.

"That is very kind of you sir. As your Queen I expect only the best. I assume your hotel is a fine one?" Jessie inquired.

"Yes ma'am. Five star rating. The finest in Kalos, _Le Hotel de Luxe_." Armaldo explained.

" _Le Hotel de Luxe_? That is one of the expensive hotels in the world!" James exclaimed. "You are going to let us stay there for one night!? And eat a meal there too?"

"Well, since you are not locals, I imagine you will need a place to stay and food to eat. I can make it a week if you want, then I have to charge", the man replied. "You see, then it is tourist season…."

Jessie, James, and Meowth dropped to the floor, causing the man to stop midsentence. Armaldo sweat-dropped, having no idea what their reactions meant. Jessie stood up first.

"I'd love to stay. You aren't just using me to get publicity for your hotel though are you?" she asked.

"Who cares! So long as we gets free stuff…." Meowth started. He was silenced by James, who glared at him to stop talking.

"I can make sure that no one knows that you are there. We can have a chauffeur drive you in one of our limousines with the shaded windows, and we can buy you all new clothes, makeup, and accessories so that no one would recognize you", Armaldo suggested. "This way you and your husband do not have to worry about all the fans bothering you when you want to relax and have your privacy at the end of a long day".

"James is not…..whatever", Jessie responded. "We are taking you up on your offer".

"Splendid Madame", he replied. "I know you have the press conference to go to. I will pick you, your husband, and your Pokémon up in the back at six. Then we can escort you to the hotel, and you can relax and we can bring you a five star meal in the room or you and your family can come down to the restaurant. Does that sound appealing?"

"Yes. Very appealing", Jessie responded, kissing the man on the hand. "Your Queen thanks you".

"Oh brotha", Meowth sighed as Armaldo disappeared. "Dis Queen stuff is gonna make her head even bigger den it already is".

"Um, Jess?" James started. He was curious to know why Jessie didn't deny that they were a couple.

She either didn't hear him or ignored him as a swarm of fans came up to her, begging for her autograph. She smiled, whipped out a pen, and got to work.

 _"Well, people assume we are married all the time, and she never denied it before_ ", he though to himself. " _So….why am I thinking about it more than usual_?"

James, Meowth, and Inkay started to walked away.

"Don't go to far, you guys", Jessie called to them. "Don't forget James, we're a team".

James smiled. "I know", he answered back, raising his voice so that he could be heard over the dozens of young girls and men who wanted to see the new Kalos Queen.

"Weeze gonna go get some fresh air!" Meowth yelled.

"Ok, Like I said, Don't go far!" She called back.

Once they got outside, Meowth decided to take a catnap on the grass while James sat by a stream and looked at the wild fish and Pokémon swim by. He was soon consumed by his own thoughts.

 _"It was just something about the way Armaldo had put it",_ he thought. _"Dinner for two, a hotel room, privacy, it all had implications. No one ever really makes assumptions about our relationship, we just do what we do. Me and Jessie share a bed, share meals, bath together, provide each other with moral support and comfort on an almost regular basis….but we do that because it just always felt so natural. No one was judging us, except maybe Meowth, and it is not like we were public figures. But now…. soon everyone in Kalos will know our faces, if they don't already."._

James stopped for a moment and stood up. He decided to take a walk and do some stretching while he had the chance, hoping that the light exercise will distract him from his own thoughts. It didn't work.

 _"Jessie can use this to her advantage",_ James told himself. _"She always had those fantasies….all those men serving her, having a fairy tale wedding with the perfect groom…..but so far she has defended our partnership and denied that she was single. Maybe because of what happened with Dr. White…..Ah! Why do relationships have to get more and more complicated they old you get?"_

An hour later it was time for the press conference. James and Meowth sat in the back while random people with cameras and microphones asked her questions about her training methods, beauty techniques, baking, and Pokémon care. As expected, she made the vast majority of the answers up, without putting much thought into them.

"How old are you Miss Queen Jessilee?" one of the little girls in the front asked.

She looked to be about six or seven herself. The child had magenta hair, much like her own, and was carrying a baby Swablu. Normally Jessie would be offended by such question, but seeing how this girl looked up to her, quite literally, she decided to answer it whole heartedly.

"Twenty-four", she replied. "A _young_ twenty four".

"Are you married?" a young man asked. He looked to be about the same age as her and James.

James, who was about to nod off like his Pokémon pal beside him, perked up.

Jessie hesitated. "I'm….involved", she answered vaguely.

James' eyes widened. He and Jessie made brief eye contact. Then she looked away and the questions resumed. Her answer made him feel happy for some reason, but also made him frustrated. He returned to the same train of thought he was riding earlier that day.

" _There she goes again….but maybe this is because she is afraid Armaldo is watching. If he finds out that we are not married, he might not give us the accommodations he offered before",_ James rationalized. _"But that guy was just her type. She never turned down men who were her type…."_

Later they were sitting in the limo with Armaldo and his Mawhile. Brennen and Meowth were having a conversation, which the rest of the party could only understand half of, while their host talked to them about their staying in Kalos.

"I know you have been here a while now, but there is never a dull moment in this wonderful land", Armaldo told them. "I have lived here since I was a child, though I did spent six years as a nomad. I went through Unova, Sinnoh, Kanto, Toka, and when I retire I plan on exploring the rest of the world. Where are you from originally? I can tell by your accents that it must by either Kanto, Johto, or somewhere near there".

"Kanto", they replied in unison.

"And what is it you do?" he asked.

"Um…..we are…chefs", said James.

Jessie gave him a curious look, since their go-to career was 'fashion design' and not 'culinary art' , but James just mouthed 'I don't know why I just said that'.

"That is right", Jessie picked up. " We specialize in…noodles. Perhaps you heard of Jessie and James' Noodle Shop?"

"That was named after you two?" he asked. "I love that place! Two of them opened up in Kalos about two years ago. I have been a big fan ever since I discovered them in Sinnoh about five years ago".

"Yes. Sometimes people call me 'Jessie' instead of 'Jessilee'. Jameson goes by James too", she explained.

"Your work inspired me to do a noodle section on my menu. Wow! I would have never guessed that the Kalos Queen and her mate were the proprietors of one of my favorite eateries. This is such a treat", he told them.

"Um….we are glad you think that", James stuttered nervously.

"Yes well Kalos is a magical place", Armaldo mused. "I have met so many amazing people here. Including my wife. They do not call it the land of love for nothing. We say that if you come looking for the love of your life here, then you are sure to find the perfect partner. I never heard of anyone ever saying anything otherwise".

"That's….interesting", James mused, looking at the window to avoid Jessie's prying stare.

A few minutes later they arrived at the restaurant, which was connected the hotel. Armaldo and the others stepped out of the limousine and a bellhop came up to take their bags.

"You must have more than just these two bags", Armaldo commented. "Where were you staying before this?"

Most of Jessie and James' things were in the Meowth balloon, which they ditched in the forest about two miles north of where the press conference was held. Admitting that the rest of their personal items were out there would sound suspicious.

"I can have some of my employees pick your things up from the last hotel you stayed at", Armaldo suggested. "It would be no trouble at all".

"Don't be ridiculous! The truth is, these are all of our things", Jessie told him. "We are very light travelers. Nomads. We only carry what we need. Before here we were just staying in this little inn. We left nothing behind".

"Huh. You sure are an interesting pair. My bellhop Xavier will escort you to your room", he replied.

Jessie, James, and Meowth followed Xavier to their room. They marveled at the enormous hotel. There were twenty floors, all sparkling clean, and the walls were covered with expensive artwork. The carpet was so soft, they felt like they were walking on Mareep wool.

"My family used to stay here when they visited the Kalos region", James whispered to his two companions. "Every floor has its own swimming pool/spa, and every meal here is all-you-can eat. There is a seafood buffet too. The biggest in the world".

Tears of joy streamed down Meowth's face as he embraced Jessie.

"Dank yous so much Jess! Danks to yous we are finally livin' de good life!" Meowth exclaimed.

The servant glanced at them quizzically. Jessie gave him a look that said 'back off', and he did not say anything. They rode the elevator up to the top floor. They walked down a hallway until they got to a large door.

"And here you are, the master suite", the bellhop announced as he unlocked the door.

"No way!" the three Rockets exclaimed in unison.

The penthouse was bigger than most homes. There was a full sized kitchen, fully stocked, a giant flat-screen TV, an enormous leather couch, one huge bedroom, two full bathrooms, and tons of open space. The bellhop put their stuff down and left them alone.

"A bed!" James squealed happily as he dove onto the king-sized mattress. "Its good, my back was starting to hurt from so many nights in the woods".

"Mine too", said Jessie as she jumped in next to him.

"Mine tree", said Meowth as he crawled between the two of them.

"Let's let out our Pokémon", James suggested. "Go Inkay!"

"Kay kay", the tiny floating Pokémon responded as it came into view.

"Gourgeist and Wobbufet too", said Jessie, tossing her two Pokeballs up.

Once everyone was out, they left the bedroom to go explore the rest of the penthouse. Meowth followed them.

"What do you want to do? Stay in or go out?" James asked Jessie, who was laying next to him with her eyes facing the ceiling.

"Out. It is my first night as Kalos Queen. I want to go out and celebrate. I bet I can _convince_ that Armaldo guy to buy us a few drinks", Jessie replied.

"Should I be concerned?" James asked, noting her emphasis on the word 'convince'.

"Ew James", she replied, smacking him with a paper fan. "He's like, twice our age".

"Let's get ready then", James replied.

The two humans showered and pulled on some of their nicer clothes. James helped her with her hair while she put on her makeup. Meowth slowly woke up from his nap and observed them beautifying themselves in the mirror.

"Yous two going out on a date?" he asked, snickering as he jumped off the bed.

"Nope", Jessie answered nonchalantly. "All six of us were invited to dinner. That Armaldo guy asked us while you were talking to that Mawhile".

"Mmmm. Dat sounds good to me", Meowth replied, licking his lips.

"Go bathe or something", said Jessie. "We need to look decent. The Queen and her associates need to look their best".

James tossed Meowth his little hair brush and a bowtie.

"Look sharp", he told his friend.

About two hours later, Jessie, James, Meowth, Wobbufet, Gourgeist, and Inkay had finished their meal at the incredibly fancy dining room.

"What do you think? Should we go for dessert and wine?" James asked his friends.

"Duh", Jessie and Meowth replied in unison.

Jessie ordered some wine and chocolate covered strawberries for the table. Meowth and the rest of their Pokémon headed over to the dessert buffet, which was located on the other side of the extravagant restaurant.

"I haven't had food this delicious and expensive since we visited your grandparents", Jessie commented. "According to the menu, we ate about four hundred dollars worth of food so far".

"I suppose being Queen really does have some perks", James responded.

James reached across the table and touched her hand, which was lying next to her wine glass. Their eyes locked for the second time that day. For the first time in a while it was just the two of them alone. Armaldo had even gotten them a private table, located towards the back of the restaurant and behind a wall where they were hardly visible.

"James….what's the matter?" she asked. Her eyes dulled and there was a shred of concern in her voice. "You look like you are thinking too hard."

"No. I am just really happy for you. It feels really good to win for once, doesn't it?" he asked with a genuine smile on his face.

"What are we going to do after this?" James asked her.

"Well, I would like to take a walk, find a bar, and have a few more drinks before going up to bed", Jessie replied. "Then maybe we can rent a movie or something. I am too excited to go to sleep just yet".

"That sounds nice, but I meant after we get kicked out of this hotel", James responded. "He said he has to charge us after a week, and even if we start working now…..there is no way we could afford this place".

Jessie was the undisputed leader of their trio, and although she had been dreaming of becoming Kalos Queen for months, she didn't think of a plan for what to do after she won the title. As usual, she just relied on fate.

"I don't want to leave Kalos", Jessie decided. "After all, this is my kingdom now".

"What about the Boss? We have been here for months. He might want us to return to Kanto or to go somewhere else soon", James replied.

"Don't worry about it", said Jessie. "We can just make up some lie about how we are too involved here to leave just yet".

"Right", James responded. "Like what, exactly?"

"We can make up a report about how we are involved in something important and cannot abort the mission just yet. We can figure the details later", she told him.

"Speaking of being involved…..", James started. "Why…..?"

"You want to know why I told people at the press conference that I was 'involved' and not 'single'?" she guessed.

"Well yeah", he replied. "You are the Kalos Queen. All day men have been throwing themselves at you. Not just any men, the type of men you like. Smart, rich, cute,….all of them practically begging you to take them out on a date, and you are not having any of it".

"I just decided that I am no longer going to be into that sort of thing", Jessie answered. "I am a Queen. None of them are good enough for me anyway"

James sniggered. "I know there is more to it than just that", said James. His face softened when he noticed Jessie's look of defeat. "You can tell me why. We are all alone".

"I know, I know", was her response.

"What? You don't trust me? But I thought I was your husband", he joked.

Jessie did a quick look around, making sure that Meowth and the others weren't on their way back. They weren't. She took a deep breath and then leaned in closer to James. He reciprocated her actions.

"Swear you won't tell anyone, not even Meowth", she demanded.

"I won't", he promised.

"The truth is….." she hesitated, unsure whether or not she was ready to admit this aloud. She didn't even want to admit it to herself. "I just can't deal with that anymore".

"Deal with what exactly?" James asked.

"It always comes down to just me", she said. There was sadness in her voice, but she refused to cry. "I am just not meant for that sort of thing. Settling down, marriage. every guy I have been with, or thought about being with, eventually tossed me aside".

James squeezed her hands. "I never tossed you aside", he whispered.

"You…..you don't count", she replied.

"Huh? What do you mean I don't count?" he asked defensively, a bit offended by her response.

"Because you and I are just friends", she answered.

James gave her the puppy dog pout _. "Just_ friends?" he asked.

"Ok, I'll admit that you and I are a bit closer than most friends", she responded with a grin. As far as she knew, most male-female friends weren't joined at the hip 24/7 the way they were. Most 'just' friends did not sleep in the same bed, wash each other's backs, or help each other get dressed and ready every morning like they did.

"But it's not the same as romance or marriage".

"True", he responded. "I don't want to get married, you don't want to get married, and this might be why we get along so well".

"James, I promise I won't leave you again. This Kalos Queen stuff is going to be fun… but I only got here because of our little family", she confessed. "I promise I won't run off the way I almost did in the past. As of right now, I am done with all that romantic crap. Who needs it anyway?"

James was almost going to confess how much he liked the 'romantic crap' to which she was referring, but they were interrupted by the return of the four Pokémon members of their squad.

"Uh oh, looks like we interrupted yere moment. Sorry 'bout dat Jimmy", said Meowth as he noticed how close the two were and how tightly they were holding onto one another's hands.

"Why don't you join us?" asked James as he grabbed Meowth and pulled him and Jessie into a hug.

"Ok, enough", said Jessie as she backed away from them all. "Let's go out".

The six of them walked the streets for the next two hours. Dozens of people, ranging from old women and men to young boys and girls bombarded them the moment they left the confines of the hotel/restaurant property. They took pictures, begged for autographs, and asked a lot of questions. Eventually, they were able to escape by using one of their disguises to sneak passed them and back up to their hotel room. Meowth ran into the bedroom, and gasped when he saw all of the baskets of goods waiting for them.

"There must be over a dozen of dese!" Meowth exclaimed as he looked around the room. Jessie and James entered behind him.

"Oh! Someone must have given these to us as gifts for me achieving the title of Kalos Queen!" Jessie squealed as she picked up a wine, chocolate, and fruit basket.

"Ooooh! This one has a bunch of rare bottle caps on it!" James glowed happily as he showed his friends a basket of French beer.

"And dis got catnip in it!" Meowth exclaimed, picking up a little basket that was decorated with tiny Meowths.

"Wobbbbbaaffffeettttt!" Wobbufet exclaimed as he popped out of his Pokeball. He held up a basket that contained several board games.

After a few more hours of drinking and playing board games, the trio and their Pokémon passed out on the bed. After a very pleasant dream, James woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and was surprised to find Jessie sprawled out on top of him. He slowly removed her and placed her next to a snoring Meowth and Wobbufet. When he got back, Jessie was awake and sitting up on the bed, waiting for him to return.

"I'm sorry! I didn't want to wake you up", he whispered. " I just really needed to pee and you were crushing me".

"I woke up a few seconds before you did. I tried to get up, but I couldn't without waking you. I figured you might be…..uncomfortable in some areas if you woke up and found my lying on top of you like that. But…..it turned out I was a little too late anyway", she smirked.

It took James a moment to register her comment. When he did, a tint of red appeared on his cheeks.

"It's a natural response. It was not my fault. I was asleep!" he said defensively.

"Don't get so defensive", she said playfully. "I'm just messing with you. Its not like this is the first time this has happened anyway…."

James blush deepened. He put his head down and lay down on his side of the king-sized bed.

The next few months were different for the trio. Instead of staking Ash and friends, Queen Jess and her family traveled from town to town, receiving free food, board, and gifts everywhere they went. Best of all, Giovanni did not call them back, and was even pleased with them when they started send him Pokémon on a regular basis. Apparently, when Ash was not around, it was much easier to capture Pokémon for the boss. While they knew the power of the Queen would eventually wear off, for know they were all satisfied.

Kalos really was the land of love.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A.N. please read and review. I am also posting this as a oneshot story


	10. Hate and Love

**Hate and Love**

 **Summary** : Domino is having some issues. Rated T, One shot.

 **Characters:** Domino, Archer.

 **Spoilers:** You might want to finish reading "Stand by You" before reading this, but you might be able to enjoy it as a stand alone.

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"Jessie, Jessie, Jessie. Why do I still hate that name so much?" Domino asked her partner.

"I can think of a few reasons, though none of them are very well justified", came the response.

Domino and got up out of her cozy position on the couch and limped over to her partner. He smiled and welcomed her onto his lap.

"Foot still bothering you?" he asked. He didn't seem too concerned.

It's not like his tough-as-nails companion ever complained about something as frivolous as physical pain.

"Clearly. But it is not just about the foot. I hate how Giovanni recruited me and you to help turn that stupid mansion into his fiancé's Pokémon hospital. You'd think the grunts, Pokémon, and hired hands would be enough. Plus he has all those kids. Why are we stuck helping? I swear that Delia woman is changing him", she ranted. "Last year he never would have hired me or you to do such demeaning work".

"You accepted the job", he pointed out.

"I need the money", she said curtly. " _We_ need the money. Argh! This whole thing is Jessie's fault!"

"So you blame Jessie our near-poverty status, your foot injury, and our measly promotion?" her partner inquired.

Domino nodded as she took a sip from his water glass. She put the glass down, wiped her mouth, and then continued on with her rant.

"Yes", she finally answered.

Archer didn't have to ask her to continue, she did so without any prodding.

"Think about it", she started. "Jessie gets herself tangled up in Team Rocket business _after_ she and the rest of her team is fired. Subsequently, Team Firestar captures her. As a result, you, her, and me are trapped under the same conditions. Giovanni, with his forces dwindling, now has to focus on rescuing all three of us, when he really only had enough troops to focus on getting you and I back. Jessie, being Miyamoto's daughter, gets priority, even though she is no longer on Team Rocket and was essentially useless to our mission. Later she becomes somewhat useful to our cause, and Giovanni hires her back out of sympathy, and even gives her a promotion. Then we find out that she got herself knocked up, and she wins a shit ton of money after suing the Morgans and Winchesters, so she decides to get married and live happily ever after. Meanwhile, you and I, who suffered just as much, are still in the same positions we were a year ago. And I wouldn't have broken my foot if her stupid Wobbufet didn't drop a box of silverware on it while we were helping to move things out of the mansion".

"I knew you could hate, what I didn't realize is how jealous you could be", he smirked. "Honestly I had no idea the cold-hearted Black Tulip would be envious of someone else's 'happily ever after'. Besides, why just hate Jessie? It is James' fault too".

"Jessie is just easier to hate", Domino answered quickly. Truthfully, she had always had a soft spot for James, ever since their training days, but she wasn't the type of person who admitted things like that.

"Fair enough", he replied, not wanted to drag it out any further.

"We need to get Giovanni to give us a better promotion. Now that he has billionaires funding his major projects, he should be able to pay us more", Domino suggested.

"True. But he always had billionaires funding his projects. He is going to put that money to use", said Archer.

"What are we supposed to do? I am twenty-four years old, and I can't live like this. Sure, we get to fly in private jets and eat fancy food and wear nice clothes, but everything is borrowed. I want my own wealth", she ranted.

Domino got off of her partner's lap and headed for the bathroom.

"I am taking a really long bath. Do not disturb me", she warned, glaring daggers.

"Ok", he replied defensively. "Let me know if you need any help. Because of your foot, I mean".

Domino smirked and then shut the door behind her. Archer sighed deeply and got up to make them some tea.

" _She doesn't really want to be rich",_ he thought to himself. " _I know her better. She likes enjoying luxury, but at the end of the day, she likes not having to be responsible for so much wealth. Being rich is stressful. Neither of us needs that in our lives. But what does she need? She seems to have everything she ever wanted already_ ".

He listened to the water running in the other room. Archer tried to imagine what his partner was thinking, since it was unlikely that she was going to tell him herself.

 _"She has great Pokémon, she doesn't want anymore_ ", he thought. " _She has a lot of respect in the TR community. She was promoted after we took down Team Firestar, and even though the raise wasn't much, it was something. Why would she be jealous of someone like Jessie? What does Jessie have that she doesn't, besides wealth? A daughter? Nah, Domino doesn't wasn't kids. We both hate kids. James? She says that she likes me. If she liked James, she would have taken him a while ago. Plus, he isn't her type. Friends? Domino has friends. In fact, she has more friends than Jessie. Why is she so confusing? She always tells me what she wants. Why not this time?"_

When Domino finally emerged from the bathroom a full two hour later, Archer was passed out on the couch. She poured herself a mug of the now-lukewarm tea that he had made and turned on the TV, keeping the volume low so not to wake him up. The default show was a soap opera. She hastily changed the channel, only to discover that they had both neglected pay the cable bill, and they were now stuck with just three options.

 _"Fuck. I am going to ring his neck when I get up, It was his turn to pay"_ , Domino thought to herself as she glanced at his sleeping form.

" _I shouldn't be mad, not at Archer, anyway_ ", she thought. _"I never reminded him_ ".

She flipped back to the telenovela. It was in Spanish, but since she was multilingual, she could still understand the dialogue. Some woman was throwing a hissy fit because her so-called boyfriend refused to propose.

"A veces", the woman lamented. "A veces, neccesito un hombre a hacer una promesa y faltarla. Nada mas".

Domino snorted. "I know how that feels", she said aloud.

"How what feels?" asked Archer.

Her partner sat up on the couch, yawned and stretched. He looked at Domino with two sleepy eyes and a slight grin.

"How long have you been awake?" she asked defensively.

"Hmmm? Just a few seconds", he answered groggily. I just heard you say 'I know how that feels" in my dream and then I woke up'. Are you watching a Telenovela?"

"Its…..You forgot to pay the cable bill", she responded quickly. Domino turned the TV off and twisted her body so that she was face-to-face with her partner. "I was just seeing what was on, but there isn't much".

Archer looked at the clock on coffee table. "You must have had a nice bath. Your hair is still damp, so you must have just gotten out", he responded. "You ok?"

"I'm fine", she said curtly, folding her arms over her chest.

"Then why are you hiding something?" he asked suspiciously.

"I am not hiding anything. How dare you accuse me!" she exclaimed.

"I am not angry, I'm just curious. You can keep secrets if you want to. I just think makes both of our lives easier if we agree that we can be open with one another. I am not hiding anything from you", he explained.

Domino was silent. " _I am not dealing with this right now_ ", she said over and over again in her head. _"I'm not the sentimental type"._

Archer watcher her slam the bedroom door.

"Does this mean I am sleeping on the couch?" he called.

"Yes", she replied, her voice a muffled sob.

" _Shit",_ Archer though to himself. " _This isn't about the cable bill. What could she be so upset over? She's not sick, other than her foot, but she has a very high pain tolerance and a broken foot is like a paper cut. She's not pregnant, unless she cheated on me. But would she do that? When would she do that? We spend most of our time together, and when we are apart we almost always have alibis. And technically it wouldn't really be cheating, since we agreed that it would be okay to sleep with other people, I just thought that should would have told me first…is she feeling guilty?...no….I'm getting ahead of myself. Besides, Domino doesn't even feel guilt. It's like her superpower. Maybe she is bored with me and wants to live with someone else. Maybe I just did something stupid and I don't remember and she is waiting for me to figure it out. I better just try to get some sleep and worry about this when I am better rested_ ".

"Ok, goodnight, Domino", Archer called. "If you decide you want to talk, just wake me up, ok?"

There was no response. Archer sighed and resumed his position on the couch, hoping that it wouldn't become his permanent resting place.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Domino was the first one up. She entered the kitchen/living room and saw Archer passed out on the little couch. He was curled into a fetal position and muttering something in his sleep. She put some tea on the stove, then walked over to him and pushed him awake.

"Hey, I'm sorry about making you sleep out here", she said.

"Is that _sincerity_ I hear?" he asked in sarcastic awe. "Praise to the lord!"

"Hilarious", she responded, smacking him with a pillow. "I am ready to talk about what is bothering me".

Archer raised his eyebrows in surprise and made room on the couch for her to sit.

"I want you to tell me what you think first though", said Domino. "Before I tell you what is bothering me. Maybe we are on the same page".

Archer sweat dropped. "You are not afraid that I am going to tell you something that you don't want to hear?" he asked.

"I am not afraid of anything, remember?" she replied.

"Fair point", he responded.

Archer shifted nervously, struggling to find the right words to convey how he felt. As much as he hated the idea of talking about this first thing in the morning, he knew how rare it was for Domino to actually open up to him like this. He wasn't going to risk asking her to talk later.

"The truth is, I was thinking about it for most of the night. It seems like you want me to do something that I cannot do, like I am not enough for you", he whispered sadly. "Domino, if you want to move on, just do it. Please don't play with me. It will hurt less if you just tell me to leave instead of holding onto me and being miserable. I want you to be happy. If leaving me makes you happy, then just let me know and I will move out".

Archer's voice cracked on the last few words. She never saw him cry before. Her face fell, and she almost showed her weakness too, until she realized that this was a good thing. She started to chuckle and placed a hand under his chin, lifting it so that she could look him directly in the eyes.

"Good", she replied, giving him a kiss.

Archer immediately pulled away and demanded to know what she was getting at.

"You are so thick", said Domino. "I don't want you to leave. I want to marry you!"

"Huh? Since when?" Archer demanded, his voice was more confused than angry. "Are you playing with me? Dammit Domino you can be so…..so…"

"Manipulative?" she suggested.

"Yes. Manipulative. That is the best word to describe you", he decided.

"Its part of my job. Giovanni hired because I can manipulate other people so easily", said Domino. "But we are not talking about work. We are talking about us".

"You…..you really want to get married? But you hate sentimental stuff!" Archer exclaimed.

"Well, I never said I wanted a traditional wedding. I would do it, if you wanted, but I don't really care. I just want you to promise not to leave me", she explained. "So? What do you say? You finally know what I want. What do you want?"

"Right now I just want a glass of water", he replied honestly.

Domino got up and poured him a glass of water, which he gulped down like he had not had anything to drink in days. He put the glass down to think for a few moments.

"I was already hoping to ask you", he admitted. "I never thought I would go through with it. After all, you suggested having an open relationship, I figured commitment to one person was the last thing you wanted".

"I….I only said that because I assumed it was what you wanted", Domino confessed. "I am done sleeping around. Really, it was fun while it lasted, but now I just want some stability".

"And by stability, you mean love", Archer translated, a sarcastic grin started to grow on his face. .

"Archer…don't….", Domino pleaded.

Domino could not bring herself to admit that she possessed a weakness such as love for another person. That was for the weak, ignorant, and soft. Only idiots like Jessie, James, and their twerpy friends fell in love.

" _The one thing that Jessie has that Domino wants but doesn't have, is true love_ ", Archer thought to himself. " _But she wont admit it. She is too proud_ ".

"Domino, I am not going to marry you unless you say 'I love you'", said Archer. "If you are too proud to admit that, then I don't think we are going to last very long".

Domino bit her tongue. " _Damn. Now he's being the manipulative one_ ", she thought to herself.

"Ok. Archer, I…..I love you", she said deliberately.

Archer embraced her and kissed her on the cheek. She returned the hug, not sure of what to do next.

"I love you too", he whispered, holding her tighter.

When he let go, Archer could have swore he saw a tear in one of Domino's eyes, but she whisked it away before he could get a second glance.

"So you can have sleep with me all night, have sex for hours, and ask me to marry you but if I ask you to say 'I love you" and give you a hug, you get awkward?" he asked.

"Ok, so I am a little weird. I am just not used to affection. You are the only person who has ever really shown me any", she replied.

"I am sorry that that happened to you. I will just have to love you enough to make up for all those lost years", he responded.

"Thanks", Domino replied, kissing him on the cheek. "Can we start now?"

"What do you suggest?" he asked.

"I suggest blowing off Giovanni and then breaking into one of the summer homes that Jessie and James told us about so that we can fool around and maybe plan a future while we are at it", she said in one breath. "I have a foot injury anyway, so its not like I would be too helpful on a mission right now anyway. It will be like therapy for me".

"I can't argue with that logic. I will call us out sick", Archer replied, picking up his cell phone.

Later the two of them were one a plane, on their way to the Sinnoh region, where an empty and forgotten mansion was waiting for them.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx


	11. Poke Karaoke

**Poke Karaoke**

 **AN:** So this little deviance takes place around chapter 20-23 of Stand by You.

 **Summary** : Jessie, James, and Meowth have been out of Team Rocket for months. After receiving new supplies from Professor Oak, the trio decided to travel with Ash and company until they could figure out a future. Joining them is handful of Ash's former traveling companions. One night they find a karaoke bar and decide to have a little fun. Rocketshipping, Wishfulshipping, and Contestshipping.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. Jessie, James, and Meowth were resting on the floor of their balloon as they floated towards their next destination. They were now accompanied by ten-year-old Bonnie and sixteen year old Serena, who stood looking over the side of the basket along with Braixen, Sylveon, Pancham, and Dedenne. The rest of their friends were walking below them.

"I know we agreed to play nice…" Jessie started, whispering into the ear of her partner James. "….but it is way too cramped in here for my liking".

"I second dat", whispered Meowth, whose sensitive hearing picked up on her quiet words.

James looked around. All his Pokémon were in their balls, yet there was hardly enough breathing space for the trio. Jessie was in his lap, and Meowth was squished between her and Wobbufet. About a foot away, Pancham sat comfortably on Braixen's shoulders, and Dedenne was atop Bonnie's head. Sylveon, Bonnie, and Serena seemed to have no problem being jammed together as they enjoyed the view from the balloon.

"Look, we are about to stop anyway", said James. He noticed them nearing a Pokémon trainer rest stop.

"Hey! We are going to stop for a water break!" Iris called to them. She, Cilan, Clemont, Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Azuril, Drew, May, and Max were walking below them.

"Clemont and I are going to fix us some lunch!", Cilan added. "There is a little kitchenette here!"

"Ok, sounds wonderful", Serena called back. She turned to her Pokémon. "I am so hungry".

"Pan Pancham!"

"Braiii"

"Sylveon sylve"

"I could go for some of big brother's cooking", Bonnie responded. "And it sounds like your Pokémon want some too".

Meowth got up and landed the balloon while Jessie and James disentangled themselves. When they got to the ground, the rest of their group greeted them.

"So how was the flight?" Ash asked Serena and Bonnie.

"I loved it! I want a hot air balloon when I get old!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Why you…you little…b", Jessie started, the rage building up inside of her.

James and Meowth quickly covered her mouth before she cursed out the little girl.

"Its very important to remember kid, dat when yous are travelin' with Jessie, yous never ever ever call her old", Meowth explained. "Yous can't even dink it. She'll pick up on dat too. And she'll get her revenge on yous. It don't matter how cute and innocent yous are, and it don't matter dat weeze are allies now".

"Oh, sorry Jessie", Bonnie replied.

"We'll try to remember to be more sensitive", Iris responded sarcastically.

There was a loud clap of thunder, and everyone looked to the sky.

"Dark clouds. A storm must be coming, " Ash observed.

"Pikaaaa", Pikachu said worriedly.

"Danks for stating de obvious", Meowth commented.

"I guess it is good that we got here when we did. There is a little place to sit inside. We will get started on the cooking", said Clemont as he ushered them into the small building.

"Over half a dozen IPhones and not one of us bothered to check the weather", Max said. "Kind of pathetic".

"It wouldn't have made a difference anyway", said May. "Even if we knew the storm was coming, we would have still wanted to get here before it hit".

Inside the small building there were a few restrooms, a sitting area, and a kitchenette. Jessie lay down in one of the large couches. She curled up in a ball and closed her eyes. James ran out to the balloon and grabbed their packs. He found her blanket and draped it over her body.

Dawn and Misty entered that part of the center just as he was leaving. They noticed Jessie asleep on the couch.

"She is sleeping again? Is that normal for her to sleep so much?" Dawn asked.

"I don't remember her being this tired in the past". Misty remarked. "I recall you functioning on very little sleep most of the time".

"Um…uh…maybe all that lost sleep is finally catching up to her", James responded awkwardly.

"James, if Jessie is sick we can stop at a clinic", Misty whispered. "We can just tell everyone that she is getting a regular checkup or something if she is embarrassed".

"Hey. I need a checkup anyway", said Dawn. "You should suggest it to her when she gets up. You know that if _we_ say anything then she will rip our heads off. At least she has your trust and respect".

"I already said something to her, but I will ask her again. I was just going to tell everyone to be quiet so that they didn't disturb her", James assured them as he walked passed them and into the small kitchen.

Ash, Pikachu, Meowth, Drew, and May were playing cards at the small table while Iris brushed Emolga, Bonnie brushed Dedenne, and Cilan, Serena, and Clemont cooked the food. Max was in the corner, reading something off of his Poke-nav, and a handful of their Pokémon, including Wobbufet, Inkay, and Gourgeist, were chatting and joking with one another.

"Ahem", James coughed, grabbing their attention.

"What's up?" asked Iris.

"Ema gaaaaa", said the Emolga in her arms.

"Everything alright?" Serena asked politely.

"Um Jessie is trying to sleep so please don't wake her up or she will be really cranky when she gets up", he announced shyly. "Uh that's all".

"No problem", whispered Ash, giving him a thumbs up, which James returned, along with an awkward half-smile.

"Hey guys", Max announced, just loud enough for the group to hear. He motioned for everyone to huddle around him.

"Did you check the weather on your Poke-nav?" asked May.

"Yeah. It says that it will rain the rest of tonight, but it will be clear in the morning. Then it will pick up again late tomorrow afternoon", Max explained.

"So we should stay here the rest of the night, do some traveling in the morning, and then make another stop before the rain starts tomorrow evening", Cilan decided. "Is there a place we can get to by tomorrow night?"

"There is a little town. Not much is there. A few homes, a dentist, dry cleaners, Laundromat, pizzeria, police station, and a karaoke bar", he answered. "There is space for us to camp out though".

"A karaoke bar. Too bad we aren't 21", said Dawn. "That would be really fun".

"I didn't want to tell you this…but you'd probably realize it sooner or later… but the bar is specifically for Pokémon trainers", Max told them. "Ten and up, though most people there are about your age, 15-17".

"What?" asked Ash.

"Pika pi?" asked Pikachu.

"I never heard of such a thing!" said Cilan. "It sounds interesting".

"I have been to one before", said Drew. "It was a really long time ago, when I first started my journey".

"What's it like Drew?" asked Bonnie. "Is it fun?"

"Its ok", he replied. "I didn't sing or anything like that…."

"I would love to do that! This storm is the perfect excuse!" Bonnie squealed.

"I'd like to watch", said Ash. "I couldn't sing to save my life, but I bet some of you are really good".

"Let's make it a date", Serena said to the group. "We can do it in a group or something"

"Ok. But for now, let's eat", Cilan announced, presenting them with some freshly cooked ramen.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later, James gently woke his sleeping partner.

"Hey", he said softly, looking into her blue eyes as they opened for the first time in hours.

"How long was I out?" Jessie asked with a yawn. Her stomach grumbled with hunger.

"About two hours. I have some leftovers for you. I can heat it up on the stove", he told her as she got up off the couch.

"I'm hungry, but right now I feel a bit too nauseous to eat", she told him.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked, feeling a bit helpless. He was determined as ever to find out what her secret was. He knew that whatever she was hiding was connected to how she was feeling.

"No", she answered, stretching her back.

James told her about the twerps' travel plans for the next two days and the karaoke bar.

"Ha. Karaoke. Like any of those twerpy teens could actually sing", she remarked. "How lame"

James smiled weakly and watched her head for the rest room. Meowth, who had fallen asleep next to Jessie on the couch purred loudly and turned over in his sleep. James took out his blanket and put it next to Jessie's.

"Hey, why do you three get the couch?" Dawn asked.

"We were here first", James responded.

"But you got to ride in the balloon for most of the day", said May. "We did a lot more work than you three",

"There isn't enough room for all of us on the couch anyway", Misty intervened. "Just let them have it. The floor isn't so bad. There are foam sleeping mats in the closet that we can stick under our bags".

"Zuril Zu", the Azuril in her arms chanted in agreement.

"Whatever. I guess there is really no sense in arguing over it", Dawn replied, walking away.

A few moments later Jessie returned, this time wearing pajama shorts and a light t-shirt instead of her normal thin silk nightgown. She lay down on the couch. James sat next to her and waited for his turn to use one of the few bathrooms the small facility had. James waited until everyone had gone before he took his turn to change in the restroom.

" _You'd think a trainers' stop would have more than four bathrooms_ ", James thought to himself as he showered. Afterwards he changed into clean boxers and a t-shirt and joined Jessie and Meowth on the couch.

"Pikachu….I'm gonna get you…", Meowth muttered in his sleep, brandishing his claws subconsciously.

James picked him up and carefully moved him towards their feet. He wrapped himself around Jessie, who shifted unconsciously in her sleep to reciprocate his actions. She whispered something in her sleep, but it was too quiet for him to understand. His smile got even wider and he placed his head next to hers, closing his eyes and savoring the moment. Before he drifted off to sleep, someone poked him. He opened his eyes to see Misty standing over him.

He almost yelled "Eek!" in surprise, but Misty hushed him.

"Just a friendly reminder that we are all still here", she whispered, smirking at his reaction.

James blushed deeply. "I know…" he said defensively.

"Just don't get too affectionate", she warned him. " It will scare the children, and gross out the teenagers".

"Misty! I though you and I were friends", James pouted. "You can be tough. And what kind of person do you think I am?"

Misty ignored his question, and flicked him in the middle of the head. "We are friends, dummy. This is just how I am, so get used to it", she replied.

Misty returned to her sleeping bag, which was a few feet away from the couch, wedged between Bonnie and Serena's sleeping bags. She rolled over so that James could no longer see her face. He noticed that almost everyone was out, including Ash and Pikachu.

" _Well, that was uncomfortable_ ", he thought to himself before finally falling asleep.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning everyone got up early and started to travel towards the next small town, where they hoped to relax for a while before moving on.

"Can Piplup and I have a turn in the balloon?" Dawn asked the trio.

"Sure, knock yourself out", Jessie replied groggily.

"Any udder twerps wanna come?" Meowth asked the group.

"Ash never got a turn", Bonnie pointed out.

"Huh. Well Pikachu was ridden in it dozens of times", said Misty. "You know, like when they used to try and capture him".

"Pi", Pikachu agreed.

"So it makes sense he wouldn't want to go back in", May add.

"I'd prefer to walk. Bonnie, Max, you can take my turn if you want", Ash responded.

"Ok!" the preteens responded in unison as they climbed into the balloon.

Jessie scowled as Bonnie and Max clumsily climbed into the basket, once again invading her personal space.

"Hey, its not as crowed as it was last time", James reminded her.

"Humph", she sighed, crossing her arms and turning away.

They arrived in a small neighborhood a few hours later.

"According to the Poke-nav, this is the place", Max announced to the group.

"Splendid", Jessie said sarcastically.

"I want some pizza!" Bonnie cheered.

"De ne ne!" cheered Dedenne.

"Mmmm. Me too", said Meowth and James, drooling a little.

"Uh! Snap out of it you two!" Jessie demanded. "We need to land this thing first".

The rest of the group cleared a spot so that the balloon could land in front of them. Bonnie and Max joined their siblings and Pokémon.

"Clemont, you should take another ride", Bonnie insisted. "It was so nice up there".

"You too May", Max told his older sister. "How about you take the next shift?"

"Sure thing", May replied.

"I'll think about it", said Clemont.

"First stop, the pizzeria!" Ash announced.

"Piiii Ka!" cheered Pikachu.

"Why does he get to call de shots?" Meowth complained.

"Well where do you want to go?" Cilan asked.

"The pizzeria", Meowth mumbled.

Everyone fell over.

"Wobba…..", Wobbufet sighed, patting Meowth on the back.

"After that, let's go to that trainer karaoke bar", Iris suggested. "It will be fun".

"Xew, Axew", Axew agreed.

"For some of us anyway", May commented.

"Well there will be arcade games too. And it will be fun to watch everyone mess up", said Dawn.

Clemont, Ash, and Max sweat dropped, making the girls giggle.

"Oh chill. Let's eat first and worry about that later", Dawn said as they entered the pizzeria.

"Pokémon trainers?" the host asked.

"Yes", Cilan replied.

The host was a short, loud, Italian man with a long mustache and strong accent. He had dark hair and dark, wrinkled skin. He shook each of their hands heartily.

"So, will your Pokémon be joining you?" he asked.

"Can they do that?" Ash asked.

"Pika?" asked Pikachu.

"Of course!" the man exclaimed loudly.

"Oh, um, well, my brother and I can't afford to buy food for our Pokémon too", said May.

"Neither can we", said Clemont.

"I certainly cannot", said Drew.

The rest of them shook their heads 'no'.

"We can't even afford to buy food for ourselves", James commented, earning him a smack from both Meowth and Jessie.

"No worries! All Pokémon get one meal free as long as their trainer buys something!" the man gushed.

"Wow!" the all exclaimed.

"This is fantastic!" said Misty as she released her Pokémon.

Everyone followed her lead and released their team. Jessie, James, and Meowth gathered into a huddle.

"Ok, so here is the plan. Since we are very low on money, we stick to the free bread they give us on the table", said Jessie.

"But I wanted some pizza", Meowth whined.

"Listen you numskull", Jessie replied. "We can't afford pizza".

"But Pokémon eat free, Jess", James reminded her.

"If we buy something. What they hell can we buy?" she asked in an irritated voice.

"Hey, weeze can get a keychain", Meowth said, pointing to a machine in the corner. They quickly ran over to it.

"It says that you just have to insert a quarter and yous can get a keychain", Jessie read. "That is genius Meowth!"

"But then Meowth is the only one who gets food", said James.

"We will make him order the biggest meal here and then we will spit it three ways and then hog all the free table-bread", Jessie explained.

"Right", James and Meowth said together.

"Woba", said Wobbufet as he popped out of his ball.

"You are going to eat the free Pokémon food that Professor Oak gave us", Jessie scolded as she returned him to the ball.

"Dis plan is really pathetic dough", Meowth commented sadly.

"Hey, we have done much, much, more pathetic things before", James replied.

"And our only other options are to A. go hungry B. excuse ourselves and go eat out of the dumpster. C. Come back later when it is storming out, steal food and somehow managed to hide it from the twerps or D., beg the twerps to buy us food", Jessie told them.

"You are right. And I say we save de beggin' fere when weeze don't gots a plan", Meowth responded.

"Hey, we are going to order you guys", Ash called over to them.

"Pika Pikachu!" called Pikachu.

After their meal, everyone headed over to the karaoke bar.

"This rain is awful", Dawn cried. "Return everyone".

Everyone returned their Pokémon. Meowth clung to James.

"Please tell me dat one of yous remembered de umbrella?" he asked desperately.

"Sorry", Jessie and James replied nonchalantly, shrugging their shoulders.

"But….but its wet! Meowth hates de water! How could yous forget?!" he exclaimed.

"You never reminded us", Jessie responded.

"Here, go under my jacket", said James as he pulled a raincoat out of his bag.

The fifteen or so odd members of their groups scrambled under four umbrellas and ran as fast as they could, with Max leading the way to the karaoke bar. Once inside, they were greeted by a handful of trainers, all teenagers.

"Hey, you dudes here for the contest?" a dumb looking kid replied. He looked to be about 16 years old. He had blond hair, freckles, and wore a Hawaiian shirt.

"Um, contest?" Dawn asked. "We were just going to hang out".

"Yeah, we didn't know that there was any kind of contest", Iris added.

"Well, lucky for you all, tonight is our riveting rivals contest!" He said enthusiastically.

The wet and confused teenagers just stared at him blankly. Jessie ignored them, opting to comb out her long hair before it dried funny.

"Riveting rivals?" Serena asked curiously.

"K, so I will get you all in the know, gather 'round", he told the kids. "I'm Brian, btw. I host this fine bar".

Everyone huddle around Brian, even James and Meowth. Jessie scoffed and headed to the restroom.

"So this contest is like, a Pokémon performance sorta, but with singing", he explained. "People like, go up in pairs, and sing a song and dance with their Pokémon. Then the judges, like they like judge. And the audience gets tokens, which they use to vote for which pair they like the best".

"Oh", May responded. "Is that it?"

"Why is it called riveting rivals?" asked Dawn.

"Because traditionally people like, go up against their rivals, and its like, riveting man", he answered.

"I see", Iris responded, annoyed by his manner of speaking.

"I will see you later cousins", Brian replied as he walked away from the group. "Aloha".

"Cousins? Aloha? That guy must think he is in Alola or something", May replied.

"Yeah he sure is something", Ash said.

"Piiii", Pikachu added.

"Anyone interested?" Drew asked.

"I don't think so", said Dawn. "Why, are you?"

"Actually", May started, "we lied".

"Come again?" Iris asked.

"Axew?"

"Um yeah, so when Drew and I were traveling alone, we went to these all the time", May explained. They are everywhere in Johto", she explained.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Misty asked.

"Well, it was sorta just a little secret we wanted to keep. We didn't think you'd actually consider doing it", she answered.

"I wanna do it", Bonnie told the group. "Who want to pair up with me? It will be fun, even if we don't win. Will you do it Max?"

"Noo wayy", he answered. "You're cool Bonnie, but that is not my thing".

"Awwww please?" she begged.

"Bonnie, don't be so rude", said Clemont. "I know how you feel, Max. It isn't my thing either".

"Or mine", said Ash.

"Jessie is going to love this", James squealed to Meowth. "A chance for her to show off her singing skills in front of an audience. She will win for sure".

"And I'm suppose yous gonna pair up with her", Meowth guessed.

"Well duh", he responded.

"Well, I'll admit dat yous two are probably gonna beat dem, but what about de fact dat dis contest is fere twerps?" Meowth asked.

"Huh? No. There are people are age here", James insisted.

James looked around until he spotted a group of about ten people who looked to be in their mid to late twenties. They were sitting at the bar. Most of them had drinks in their hands and one woman was holding an infant.

"See", James told Meowth as he pointed to them.

Meowth snorted. "Hey, for all weeze know dey could be de twerps' parents", he said teasingly.

"Shove off, Meowth", James whined.

"Meowth, what are you doing to him?" Jessie asked as she emerged from behind them.

James explained the contest and pointed out the group of twenty-somethings near the bar.

"I like the way you think", Jessie said, walking towards the bar, dragging James behind her. Meowth and Wobbufet followed along.

Jessie walked up to the person running the contest and flirted with him until he gave her two free entries.

"Look, James, easy as pie", she bragged, waving the tickets so that Serena, Bonnie, and May could see them from across the room.

"Jessie, is that you?" a strange woman asked her.

"Tiffany? " Jessie asked, staring at the woman.

"It is you!" she answered, giving Jessie a hug.

"Whaaattt?" James and Meowth gaped.

"Jessie and I used to work together", Tiffany explained.

"Oh yeah, at one of yere millions of past jobs I suppose", Meowth responded.

"Tiffany was a Pokémon ranger", Jessie explained. "and I was her humble assistant".

"You worked for a Pokémon ranger?" James asked, perplexed.

"Yous were humble?" Meowth exclaimed, even more confused.

Jessie quickly stomped on his toes without Tiffany noticing, although she did look surprised when Meowth suddenly screamed and grabbed his foot.

"You all right?" she asked the Pokémon.

"Yeah..", he sighed pathetically.

"Where did you catch a talking Pokémon? Or did you teach him to talk yourself?" Tiffany asked her.

"How about we take a seat so that we can all catch up", James suggested.

"Good idea", said Tiffany. "I didn't even ask you what your name was".

"I am James", he replied, leading them to a table.

"Looks like Jessie found an old friend", May observed.

"Its sorta weird to think that they have friends", said Dawn. "I mean, they spend like all of their time following us. And when they are free, they are usually hanging out wherever we are, and we travel all over the place".

"And everyone in Team Rocket seems to hate them", said Serena. "Domino, Cassidy, Blitch, Wendy…"

"Well, they did grow up and work all throughout Kanto", said May. "and I suppose everyone, even annoying and conceited people like Jessie, have some friends that aren't just co-workers".

After about twenty minutes of catching up, Tiffany asked them about the contest.

"As a matter of fact, James and I are excellent performers and we are going to win this competition", Jessie explained confidently.

"Oh", she answered. "I look forward to it", she said vaguely. "Well, I should get back to my friends. Are you sure you don't want to come over and meet them?"

"We're sure", Jessie and James said plainly.

"I can't believe Tiffany is married already", Jessie said dismally after her friend had walked away. "I'm the only one who isn't married yet, and there were ten of us, all the same age, working there".

"You want to field this one for me?" James asked Meowth.

"Oh no. I told yous two a while ago dat I am not yere relationship counselor. Dat was in our contract, remember?" he replied. "I'm gonna go see if dey have any of dose peanuts at de bar".

Meowth was quickly gone and replaced with Serena and Bonnie.

"So, we saw you signed up", Serena commented.

"Yeah. We like the prize. What's it to you?" Jessie replied.

"Well, we want to win the free vacation too", Bonnie replied. "So me and Serena are going to sing".

"How cute. What are you going to do, Disney? High School Musical? Hannah Montana?" she teased.

"Actually, the way this works is that we don't get to pick", said Serena.

"What do you mean?" they responded anxiously.

"Each pair picks their songs randomly. Afterwards each team gets a half hour to decide a little routine with their partners and Pokémon", Bonnie answered. "We are stuck with whatever song we end up picking".

"Oh", Jessie and James sighed. "That doesn't sound fun".

"It will be hilarious! What, you scared?" Serena teased.

"No!" they both exclaimed.

"Ok, see you later", Bonnie replied as they walked away.

"De ne ne ne!" Dedenne waved goodbye.

"Well, if we get a free vacation….", Jessie started.

"…it will be worth it", James finished.

"Time for us to pick our songs", Cilan told Jessie and James.

"You are competing too?" James asked incredulously.

"Yep. Iris and I. We aren't great, but we are okay. We figured it was worth a shot", he replied.

The four of them walked over to the side of a little stage that was set up at the bar. Serena and Bonnie, May and Drew, Tiffany and her husband, and two more unfamiliar pairs of teenagers were waiting for them, along with Brian.

"Nice to see you again dudes", he said, handing them each a necklace with their name on it.

"You two are going to sing?" May asked, struggling to stifle a giggle.

"Prepare for trouble, I'd wipe away that smirk if I were you", Jessie replied.

"You know each other?" Tiffany asked.

"Long story", they all answered together.

"Ok, I will talk to you about it later then", she responded.

Brian brought out what looked like a huge jar of Ping-Pong balls. He asked one member of each team to pick a ball out of the jar. Written on each one was the name of the song they had to do. May hesitated and then reached into the jar and pulled out a ball.

"We have 'Starships' by Nicki Minaj", she told her partner. "We have to do that one".

"Not bad at all", Drew responded.

Cilan chose next.

"It is 'Stuck to You' by Nikka Costa. I never even heard that song before", said Cilan as he read his Ping-Pong ball.

"I have. It's a good one, Trust me, you will like it", Iris assured him.

"Xew Xew!", said Axew, nodding his head up and down enthusiastically.

"Serena, you can pick", said Bonnie.

"Ok, here is goes…", she said as she reached into the jar.

"What do we have?" Bonnie asked excitedly.

"We have 'That Don't Impress Me Much' by Shania Twain. Darn, just how lame can it get?" Serena complained.

"De nay", Dedenne sighed.

"Cheer up, this is supposed to be fun, remember?" Bonnie told her.

"Yeah, you're right", Serena answered, forcing a smile. "and we could have gotten a much more embarrassing song than this".

James clumsily reached into the jar and pulled out a little while ball.

"What's our song, James?" Jessie asked anxiously as he squinted at the Ping-Pong ball.

"'Dreams', by Fleetwood Mac", he answered.

"Oh. Good", she smiled widely. "We can do _that_ song".

"You think?" he asked.

"Definitely", she responded. "Trust me".

"So dudes, these are like the first round songs", Brian announced. "Since there are like six teams competing, we are going to narrow it down to like three. The winners will be decided like after the first round. There will be a vote, and the judges will like act as tiebreakers. Do you dudes have any questions?"

"So we might go twice?" May asked.

"That's what I mean dude", he responded.

"Sweet", she replied.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

After talking to Brian, the pairs, along with their Pokémon, were ushered into small rooms that were in the back of the bar. They all learned the lyrics and made up a routine, and were now getting ready to perform. May and Drew were the first ones up.

"Ok, Beautifly, Roserade, ready to perform?" May asked the Pokémon.

"Beauttttifffllllyy"

"Roser Roserade"

"They seem ready to me", Drew responded.

They each took a deep breath and entered the stage. Ash, Pikachu, Max, Clemont, Meowth, Dawn, and Piplup were seated in the front row.

"Go May!" Ash cheered, as enthusiastic as ever.

"Yeah sis!" Cheered Max.

Him and the others applauded them as Brian announced their names.

May stepped forward to begin the song as the music began.

 _"Let's go to the beach, each  
Let's go get away  
They say, what they gonna say?  
Have a drink, clink, and grab some sunlight  
Fun girls like me are hard to come by" _

Then Drew came in to sing the next part.

" _The patron own, let's go get it on  
The zone own, yes I'm in the zone  
Is it two, three? Leave a good tip  
I'mma blow off my money and don't give two shits"_

Then they started to sing together.

 _"I'm on the floor, floor, I love to dance  
So give me more, more, 'til I can't stand  
Get on the floor, floor  
Like it's your last chance  
If you want more, more  
Then here I am_

Starships were meant to fly  
Hands up and touch the sky  
Can't stop 'cause we're so high  
Let's do this one more time

Starships were meant to fly  
Hands up and touch the sky  
Let's do this one last time  
Hands up, higher than any other"

May sang the next part by herself.

"Bump in my hoopty-hoopty-hoop I own that  
And I ain't paying my rent this month I owe that  
But do what want, and do what you like  
Dance all ya life there's no end in sight  
Twinkle, twinkle little star"

And Drew went back to do the next part alone.

"Now everybody let me hear you say ray ray ray  
Now spend all your money cause today pay day  
And if you're a G, you a G-G-G  
My name is Onika, you can call me Nicki"

And then the two of them finished the song together. Their Pokémon finished with a combination that involved Roserade throwing petals into the audience that Beautifly suspended with gust and then dropped as soon as the song had ended.

"Awe, they did the clean version, how wholesome", Jessie mocked.

"What did you expect?" James replied.

"I dunno", she replied. "Just imagine if she did the original version…" Jessie laughed childishly.

Next up was Bonnie and Serena, who did an awesome job considering they had one of the lamest karaoke songs imaginable. When they were done, two mystery pairs of teenagers whose names Jessie and James didn't bother to remember went up. After them was Tiffany and her husband. Jessie's heart ached will jealously as she watched them on stage performing "Our Song" by Taylor Swift. Though she hated Taylor Swift, she couldn't help but be envious of them. She secretly wanted that cheesy romantic moment on stage to be hers. After them was Cilan and Iris.

"You ready?" Cilan asked her.

"Me, you're the one shaking", Iris responded, putting a warm hand on his shoulder.

"I never sang in front of an audience", he explained.

"I know. You told me twenty times", she replied. "You have nothing to worry about. I think you sound really good. Better than everyone else we heard so far".

"Axew, xew xew" Axew assured him.

"I just hope I don't mess up", he responded.

"Its no big deal, just chill", Iris told him. She gave him a peck on the cheek and then the two of them entered the stage.

"This is going to be really good", Ash, whispered to Misty. "Iris used to sing all the time when we were traveling, like in the shower or hot springs".

After Brian announced them to the crowd, Iris started off the song.

 _"If you a star, I be your milky way  
If you a bar, I drink up everyday  
If you the town, I be the talk  
If you the talk, baby, I be the walk_

 _If you wanna dig, I be your gold  
If you wanna live, I be your old age  
You be the time, I be the clock  
You be the tick, I be the tock_"

Cilan picked up the next part.

 _"If you wanna race, I run like crazy  
If you wanna ride, I drive ya daily  
If you a beach, I be the sand  
You wanna give, I be your hand_"

They both joined together to sing the chorus.

 _"You got me stuck to you  
You got me stuck to you  
You got me stuck to you  
You got me stuck to you  
you got me stuck, stuck to you"_

Cilan continued the next part.

" _If you a case, I be a jury  
If you a sin, I be your mercy  
If you a beat, I be the moves  
If you a tree, baby, I be the roots  
If you made for walkin', I be your boots"_

Iris took the next part.

" _If you a bride, I be your wedding  
If you a soul, I be your Otis Redding  
If you a verse, I be your song  
If you a king, I be your kong"_

And then they sang together again for the rest of the song.

" _Clap hands, C'mon  
Clap hands, C'mon  
We're headed for a breakdown  
I'm a fool, I'm a clown  
But you stuck me so good  
That's right, I been shot down  
Clap hands, C'mon  
Clap hands, C'mon  
You got me stuck to you, stuck to you"_

Iris' Emolga, Axew, and Cilan's Pansiege helped with the performance, finishing off with a bright display of fire, electricity and swirling leaves.

"Wow. I did not see that one coming", said Jessie.

"They were actually good", said James.

"Yep. But no good enough", Jessie replied.

"Our last performance for the first round, we have Jessica Tonaka, James Morgan, Inkay, and Gourgeist with 'Dreams' by Fleetwood Mac", Brian announced.

"Pikachuuuu", said Pikachu.

"I know", said Ash. "I'm curious to see how this will go too".

The lights in the bar went out as the music started to play. A warm orange glow and blue neon rays appeared a few seconds later. It took the crowd a few moments to realize it was Inkay and Gourgeist creating the light. Jessie opened the song.

 _"Now here you go again, you say  
You want your freedom  
Well who am I to keep you down?  
It's only right that you should  
Play the way you feel it  
But listen carefully to the sound  
Of your loneliness_

 _Like a heartbeat drives you mad  
In the stillness of remembering what you had  
And what you lost, and what you had, and what you lost….."_

Then James joined her, and the two of them dance around the lights their Pokémon were creating.

 _"Thunder only happens when it's raining  
Players only love you when they're playing  
The say women they will come and they will go  
When the rain washes you clean, you'll know, you'll know"_

James sang the next verse by himself.

 _"Now here I go again, I see the crystal visions  
I keep my visions to myself. _

_It's only me who wants to wrap around your dreams and,  
Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?  
Dreams of loneliness,  
Like a heartbeat, drives you mad  
In the stillness of remembering, what you had,  
And what you lost and what you had and what you lost"_

James and Jessie continued to dance as they sang the last part together.

" _Thunder only happens when it's raining  
Players only love you when they're playing  
Women, they will come and they will go  
When the rain washes you clean, you'll know_

 _you'll know…."_

When the song was finished, the lights coming from their two Pokémon dimmed dimmed until the stage was once again immersed in darkness. The crowd burst into applause.

"Wow", Iris said to Cilan. "Who knew they could sing so well?"

"I was thinking the same thing", said Serena.

"It makes me wonder why they joined Team Rocket. They probably could have just made money performing", May comment.

"Maybe one day we'll find out", said Cilan.

"Yous two were awesome!" said Meowth as Jessie and James sat down in the seats he reserved for them.

"Woba Wobbufet", said Wobbufet.

"Yeah, where did you learn how to dance?" asked Misty. "And sing?"

"And coordinator?" asked Dawn.

"There is a lot you still don't know about us, twerps", Jessie replied.

"Well, I think you did a great job", Ash told them. "You should have become performers instead of criminals".

"Pi", said Pikachu.

"No comment", the two responded.

"Ok, like so now everyone will vote by writing the number of the pair they liked the most on their tokens and handing them to the judges", Brian announced.

"This is going to be hard. I wish we could vote for more than one", said Clemont.

"Me too", said Ash.

"Well, our Pokémon can vote too", Misty responded. She gave Azuril a token.

"Oh yeah", Ash replied, handing Pikachu one of his tokens.

After the judges counted up all the tokens, it was announced that May and Drew, Iris and Cilan, and Jessie and James were moving on to the next round.

"No surprise there", Max commented. "I bet if they had four spots then Serena and Bonnie would have made it".

"Maybe", Serena replied skeptically. "Everyone was pretty good".

"Piplup pip!" said Piplup.

Brian brought the jar of Ping-Pong balls back over to the six finalists. They chose their songs.

"Jessie, what did you get?" James asked her.

"Hold on, I'm trying to read it", she responded, trying to get a grip on the little white ball.

"We have '500 Miles' by The Proclaimers", May tell Drew as she read her ball.

"Nice", he replied.

"Did you find out ours yet?" James asked Jessie.

"Yes. It's called 'Hold Each Other' by A Great Big World", she answered.

"Oh", he replied. "I never heard it, I hope we like it".

"Me too", Jessie responded.

"We have "Sweet Caroline' by Neil Diamond", Iris told Cilan after she chose her ball.

"Everybody set?" Brian asked them.

"Yes", they replied in unison.

"Ok. Twenty minutes, Group 6 goes up first", Brian replied. "So like, be ready to go".

"That's us", said James.

"I know, let's get going", Jessie responded, grabbing his hand and leading him to one of the back rooms.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ok dudes, let's here it for Jessie and James!" Brian announced to the audience.

"Wobbbbbbaaa!"

"Chiiimmmeee!"

"MI Mi Mime!"

"Serrrrviper!"

"Growlithe Growl"

"Veeeeee!"

"Jessie and James' Pokémon sure are excited", Dawn commented.

"Yeah. They have I lot of respect for them", Ash responded. "Pokémon are usually loyal to their trainers no matter what if their trainer treats them well".

"C'mon guys! Get us dat vacation!" Meowth called out to them. James smiled and gave him thumbs up.

The music started to play. James sang the first verse.

 _"I miss the words we used to say  
I miss the sounds of yesterday  
I miss the games we used to play like ohhh  
I was trapped inside a dream  
I couldn't see her next to me  
I didn't know she'd set me free like ohhh_

 _Something happens when I hold her  
She keeps my heart from getting older  
When the days get short and the nights get a little bit colder  
We hold each other  
We hold each other, mmm"_

"He's so good. They are going to win. I can feel it. Sorry May", Misty whispered to Ash.

"I think I agree with you…", Ash whispered back.

Jessie picked up the next verse.

 _"Everything looks different now  
All this time my head was down  
He came along and showed me how to let go  
I can't remember where I'm from  
All I know is who I've become  
That our love has just begun like ohhh_

 _Something happens when I hold him  
He keeps my heart from getting broken  
When the days get short and the nights get a little bit frozen  
We hold each other  
We hold each other, mmm"_

"They are really nailing this song", Clemont said worriedly.

"We know", Bonnie and Serena said together.

James sang the next part.

 _"If I'm stressing you that blessing that's sent from heaven  
These days start to feel like hours and hours feel more like seconds  
People judged us they couldn't see the connection  
When I look at you, it's like I'm looking back at my reflection  
I don't see nothing different, our pigments they coincide  
We hold each other so tight they couldn't break us if they tried  
My eyes are those of the blind, I see no color or size,  
I feel the love in your touch and I trust what's inside your mind"_

Jessie sang the next verse.

 _"I know that we've been through a lot  
I know that we both grew up  
You know I missed you a lot  
When I was young I was dumb  
Didn't think you'd fit in my plot  
And I appreciate the break because I love what we got now  
You give me chills and I can't imagine you leaving  
If I could build a perfect person honestly you would be it  
And you know nobody knows you like I know you  
I can't wait to come back home so I can hold you"_

They sang the final part together.

" _Something happens when I hold her  
She keeps my heart from getting older  
When the days get short and the nights get a little bit colder  
We hold each other  
We hold each other  
We hold each other, mmm"_

Everyone in the audience gave them a standing ovation as they bowed. Not only was their singing perfect, but their Pokémon did an amazing job timing their attacks for special effects. Next up was Cilan and Iris. Cilan started off the song.

 _"Where it began,  
I can't begin to knowin'  
But then I know it's growing strong_

Was in the spring  
And spring became the summer  
Who'd have believed you'd come along.

Hands, touchin' hands  
Reachin' out, touchin' me, touchin' you

Sweet Caroline  
Good times never seemed so good  
I've been inclined  
To believe they never would"

Then Iris sang the next part.

 _"But now I look at the night  
And it don't seem so lonely  
We fill it up with only two._

And when I hurt,  
Hurtin' runs off my shoulders  
How can I hurt when holding you?

Warm, touchin' warm  
Reachin' out, touchin' me, touchin' you

Sweet Caroline  
Good times never seemed so good  
I've been inclined,  
To believe they never would  
Oh, no, no"

They sang the rest of the song in unison.

Sweet Caroline  
Good times never seemed so good  
Sweet Caroline,  
I believe they never could  
Sweet Caroline  
Good times never seemed so good  
oh no….."

After they finished the song, Emolga's electricity and Dragonite's icebeams lit up the stage in a big finish. Everyone clapped for them and the judges complimented them, although no one figured they would be able to top the competition.

May and Drew went next, singing '500 Miles'. May started out the song, and the two of them switched back and forth every few lines.

May:

 _"When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be  
I'm gonna be the one who wakes up next to you"_

Drew:

 _"When I go out, yeah I know I'm gonna be  
I'm gonna be the man who goes along with you"_

May:

 _"If I get drunk, well I know I'm gonna be  
I'm gonna be the one who gets drunk next to you"_

Drew:

 _"And if I haver, yeah I know I'm gonna be  
I'm gonna be the man who's havering to you"_

Together:

 _"I would walk 500 miles  
And I would walk 500 more  
Just to be the man walks a thousand miles  
To fall down at your door"_

May:

 _"When I'm working, yes I know I'm gonna be  
I'm gonna be the one who's working hard for you"_

Drew:

 _"And when the money comes in for the work I'll do  
I'll pass almost every penny on to you"_

May:

 _"When I come home, oh I know I'm gonna be  
I'm gonna be the one who comes back home to you"_

Drew:

 _"And if I grow old, well I know I'm gonna be  
I'm gonna be the man who's growing old with you"_

Together:

 _"I would walk 500 miles  
And I would walk 500 more  
Just to be the one who walked a thousand miles  
To fall down at your door"_

May:

"When I'm lonely, well I know I'm gonna be  
I'm gonna be the one whose lonely without you"

Drew:

" _And when I'm dreaming, well I know I'm gonna dream  
I'm gonna dream about the time when I'm with you"_

May:

 _"When I go out, yeah I know I'm gonna be  
I'm gonna be the one who goes along with you"_

Drew:

 _"And when I come home, yes I know I'm gonna be,  
I'm gonna, be the man who comes back home with you  
I'm gonna be the man who's coming home with you"_

Together:

 _"I would walk 500 miles  
And I would walk 500 more  
Just to be the man who walks a thousand miles  
To fall down at your door_

But I would walk 500 miles  
And I would walk 500 more  
Just to be the man who walks a thousand miles  
To fall down at your door"

"They were incredible!" Serena gasped in awe.

"I had no idea May could sing like that", Misty commented.

Everyone cheered for them.

"It is going to be between Jessie and James and May and Drew", Max guessed.

"I think you are right", Bonnie responded.

After the judges gave their opinions and collected everyone's vote, all six trainers and their Pokémon gathered on stage to hear the final results.

"So it was like, really close dudes", Brian announced to the crowd. "It was between Jessie and James and May and Drew. After careful consideration, the judges decided to award the five-day, five nights stay at the all-inclusive Peach wood Resort in Alola to May and Drew! Congrats Dudes!"

"Yessss!" May squealed.

"All right!" Drew said happily as they hugged each other in excitement.

"What? I dought fere sure dat weeze were gonna win dat", Meowth sighed.

"No way! We were much better than those brats!" Jessie complained.

James patted her on the back. "Hey, I guess we can't win 'em all", he joked.

Jessie gave out a louder sigh while May and Drew were given their prize tickets.

"I want a vacation soo bad", Jessie pouted.

"One day", James told her.

"I dink she wanna have a vacation before we die of old age", Meowth commented as he walked up to the duo.

"Meowth….."Jessie started angrily. "Don't get me started".

Jessie and James' Pokémon came over to comfort them, easing the tension in the air.

"So, now that this is over we should look for a place to stay", said James.

"Weeze are gonna have to camp out with all of dem twerps", Meowth said sadly.

"You need a place to sleep?" Tiffany asked.

"Tiffany!" Jessie exclaimed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I was just on my way out and I heard you mention camping", she responded.

"Um yeah. Since we are traveling, we have to camp out whenever there isn't a Pokémon center available", James explained.

"Well I live just around the corner from here", she told them. "My house is pretty big. My grandparents used to live there with me but they recently moved out to go live somewhere warmer, and as a result my husband and I have a lot of extra room. We can host you and your friends for a night".

"That would be wonderful! Are you sure that's all right though?" Jessie asked.

"Sure. I only have one guest bed though. I figured that all those kids could set their sleeping bags up in the basement. It is warm and dry and we have a carpet there so that it is softer than the ground", Tiffany's husband explained.

"Oh thank you", Jessie said, giving her friend a hug.

"No probably, Jessie", Tiffany responded, returning the hug.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So we better get moving", Cilan told his friends. It is already 10:30pm, and we still have to find a place to camp out".

"Actually, yours truly already figured that out", Jessie announced.

"What do you mean?" Misty asked her.

"Jessie just happens to have an old friends who lives around here. She is going to let us stay in her house overnight", James explained.

"Thank god", said May. "I hate camping during thunderstorms".

"That is great. Is that the Tiffany woman?" asked Serena.

"Yes", her and James replied in unison.

Tiffany and her husband, a Pokémon ranger named Bill, led the kids to the basement. The basement had a warm, fluffy carpet, two bathrooms, and plenty of space for them to spread their sleeping bags. Jessie and James took the one spare bed, and banished Meowth to the basement with the twerps.

"What are you doing down here?" Bonnie asked Meowth as he set up his tiny sleeping bag.

"Getting' ready to goes to sleep, de same as yous", he replied.

"Why aren't you with Jessie and James?" Serena asked.

"Dey kicked me out", he responded.

"But I thought there was only one guest bed", Ash said dumbly.

Misty, Dawn, Iris, and May rolled their eyes, Serena giggled, and the boys sweat dropped.

"Uh Ash….", Clemont started.

"Don't bother", Misty interrupted. "He'll figure it out".

"What….oh….yuck!" Ash complained.

The kids shared and awkward laugh as they continued to get ready for bed. Meowth ignored them the best he could and lay down next to Misty's Azuril.

"Zuril zu Azuril ril", it said to him. " _Your trainers are so great. I think you are a really lucky Meowth"._

"Danks kid", Meowth responded. "Dey ain't my trainers….but yere right. Even dough dey can be annoyin' and sometime ignore me, dey are still pretty great".

"Night everyone", said Dawn as she shut the lights.

"Night" they all responded.

Tomorrow the young trainers planned to move on to their next destination in the Kanto region, continuing to act as a team, as they face new changes and challenges ahead.


	12. A Travesty of Sorts (Meowth's Plan)

A Travesty of Sorts (Meowth's Plan)

Xxxxxxxxxx

AN: So this one-shot was partially inspired by a fic written by JamesLuver ( u/1257158/JamesLuver ) that I re-read a few days ago. I don't want to say the name of that fic because it might give some things away, but I recommend reading some of JamesLuver's work if you are a Team Rocket fan (or a Dowton Abbey/Sweeny Todd Fan, as this writer as fics for those fandoms as well). I listed some of them in my favorites for your (and my) convenience. Hint: the work that inspired this one is listed there. If you have not read my fic "Stand by You", this might be a tad confusing, but I will try to make it clear so that everyone can enjoy it, though I highly recommend reading "Stand by You" first.

 **Characters:** James, Meowth, Jessie, the twerps, original characters: Annastasia, Rumika, and Lucy and a few others.

 **Spoiler Alert for** **Stand by You** : This takes place about 3 ½- 4 years after the last chapter of that story, so finish and review it plz! I really want more reviews! Just a refresher: James, Jessie, and Meowth live in Pallet Town, in Ash's old house. They work part time for Team Rocket but spend most of their time running a hotel/restaurant that was started by Delia years previously. They are rich (long story). Annastasia is their daughter, she is five years old. Lucy is a talking Purrloin who became friends with Meowth several years ago. They have two kittens, a shiny Purrloin and a shiny Meowth, named Logan and Lily respectively, who are very mischievous an often get into trouble. They all live under the same roof, along with all their Pokémon, and they are on friendly terms with the twerp troops, most of whom are in their early –mid twenties/ late teens when this fic takes place. Rumika is Jessie's cousin (and Jessiebelle's disowned little sister), and Autumn is Brock's girlfriend. Lil-G (a Lillipup) and Bleu (a Swablu) are Annastasia's companion Pokémon, but I will probably not mention them in this fic anyway. Also, other than Jessie/James, I also paired Misty/Ash, Cilan/Iris, Serena/Clemont, Brock/Autumn, and Delia/Giovanni, but that really isn't significant for this story.

 ** _Thank you_**

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the small town of Pallet, Jessie and James were just waking up to obnoxious squawking of a Doduo.

"Ugh", Jessie complained, rolling out of bed. She looked out the bedroom window and saw the freakish bird. It was perched on a large pile of Tauros manure over at Professor Oak's lab. It was so loud that they could hear it all the way across the meadow. She slammed the window shut.

"Sorry Jess. I suppose I left the window open again.." James murmured, a pillow pressed against his ears to block out the noise.

"Mmmmhhhhhmmm", she mumbled, slumping over to the bathroom. She slammed the door, letting James know that she wasn't in the mood to talk to him. He slowly got up from the bed and stretched, making a mental note to stay on Jessie's good side for the rest of the day.

Later that same day, James was outside modifying Annastasia's bicycle when Meowth approached him. The scratch-cat Pokémon looked around intently to see if he was being watched, and once he reckoned that the coast was clear, he grabbed James' attention.

"Yo!" He said, jumping up and tapping James' on the shoulder.

"Oh, hey Meowth", James said brightly.

James was coated in bike grease from head to toe, but the most noticeable feature was the wide grin planted on his face.

"I fixed Anna-chan's bike. Now, no more training wheels!" he said proudly.

"Dat's great, Jim", Meowth replied.

"So whatcha need?" James asked.

"Just wanted to know what yous planned on doing fere de big day", Meowth answered.

"Big day?" James asked, confused by his question. "Um, you mean removing the training wheels?"

"No, de udder big day", Meowth replied, rolling his eyes.

James shifted uneasily and stared blankly at the Pokémon.

"You know. Anyways, I wanna get goin' on dose party favors, since weeze don't got much time left, but I don't knows how many roses yous want me to orda", Meowth replied nonchalantly.

James' heart began to race. Party? He didn't remember a party? He ran through birth dates and anniversaries in his head. Everything turned up blank.

"Ummm, so what are the plans so far?" James asked innocently. Maybe he could try to get Meowth to *remind* him before he had to beg.

"I should be de one askin' yous", Meowth replied. "I figured yous had it all figured out by now…."

James sweat dropped and made one last attempt to search his brain for the answer. Once again, it turned up blank. He face twisted in panic, and he could have sworn he saw a smirk starting to emerge on Meowth's fuzzy feline face.

"Meowth, the truth is…..I forgot. I have no idea what you are talking about", James admitted.

"I know", Meowth responded.

"Huh? If you knew I forgot then why were you teasing me? " James complained.

"It was a good opportunity", Meowth answered.

"So, what did I forget, and how did you know that I forgot?" James inquired.

"Jessie told me", he said teasingly.

"Shit", James thought. "What did she say?"

"I can't tell yous dat", Meowth responded.

"Why not?" James whined.

"Because I am sworn to secrecy", the feline replied. "I can't just spill de beans. Jessie's my friend and she trusts me".

"But I married her!" James cried. "Why would she tell you and not me?"

"Hey, Jessie and I still got our friendship. Yous don't gotta be so jealous 'bout it", Meowth retorted. "And, she's pretty upset dat yous don't seem to rememba".

"Oh no! Here I was thinking that she was just grumpy because I forgot to shut the window and that stupid bird over at Gary's place woke us up again", James said anxiously. "I didn't think she was actually _that_ upset".

"Look, James. Since I'm yere friend, and I hate to see yous all panicked, I'm gonna help yous out", Meowth told James, putting a sympathizing paw on his shoulder. "But yous can't tell Jessie".

"I won't I swear", James answered quickly. "So, what did I forget?"

"Only de most important day of yere young lives", Meowth said, leaning in to whisper the answer into James' ear. "It's de 20th anniversary of de day dat yous two first met".

James gasped. "Really?" he said. That didn't seem right. He and Jessie met when they were nine. How old were they now? He and Jessie agreed to stop keeping track….

"Really", Meowth responded, seeing the confused look on his friend's face.

"Wow, I didn't think Jessie thought about things like that. I mean, if it was important to her, she would have told me, right?" James wondered aloud.

"Look Jim, I understand human women even less den you do. What I do know is dat Jessie is really upset. She says dat if yous don't throw a big party, den she's gonna be very very mad. It sounded to me like she might even take Annastasia and leave for a little hiatus if yous ask me…." Meowth continued. "You know, try out de single life fere a while…"

"Oh no!" James exclaimed. "I…I can't believe I didn't sense this! Are you sure? She has never been this upset before. Not since Annastasia was born", James responded.

"James, I've been workin' with her just as long as yous had. She sounded serious to me", Meowth said darkly.

James gulped. It didn't sound like Jessie at all, but he couldn't risk it. Even if she didn't leave, it would diminish her trust in him, and it took years to build that up.

"Help me", James begged.

"Ok. Luckily, yous got money now. She wants de whole sha-bang", Meowth told him. "A party with everyone weeze know. Even if weeze don't like 'em. Dis way weeze can brag. She wants lots of food, especially seafood, and a ginormous chocolate fountain".

"Seafood?" James inquired.

"It's a popular dish…" Meowth said defensively.

"Anything else? How long to I have?" James continued. He took out a pen and was writing things down on the palm of his hand.

"I dink she wants dere to be lots of seafood, so don't forget about dat. And have music too. And yous got five days", Meowth responded. He listed a few more details, which James anxiously scribbled onto his hand.

"Ok. Thanks Meowth, I owe you a big favor", James said, bowing to Meowth.

"I know", the Pokémon replied. Meowth decided to head over to the hotel, where he knew Jessie was finishing up a meeting with some contractor.

James ran into the house, thinking it best to write down the important things that Meowth told him on some paper and then to scrub the bike grease off of himself before Jessie saw him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jessie just finished her meeting and was leaving the room when Meowth approached her.

"Sup Jess", Meowth said casually, matching her pace as she walked by him.

"What is it?" Jessie asked.

"So, yous got some time to talk?" he inquired.

Jessie looked at her watch: 2:00pm. She didn't have to leave to pick Annastasia up from school for another half hour.

"Sure", she said, walking over to the hotel bar.

Jessie poured herself a seltzer as Meowth climbed onto the stool across from her. Since it was only 2, the bar was still closed, and no one was around until it opened at 4.

"So I talked to Jimmy", Meowth told her.

"So?", she replied.

"He told me why he was so upset with you", Meowth confided.

"He…he was upset with me? And he didn't tell me? He told…..you?" Jessie asked. She was surprised. The last time she saw James, he wore a tired grin. He was weary, but he didn't seem too bugged as he headed out to go modify his daughter's bike. The last time she snapped at him, it was because he left the damn window open again, but it really didn't bother her that much. He didn't seem too offended by it either.

"He was tryin' his best to hide it from you", Meowth explained.

"Oh", Jessie sighed. James rarely tried to hide his emotions, nor did he usually talk to Meowth about things before her. This was a big deal, she knew it. "So, you gonna tell me why?"

"I dunno. I mean, I was sworn to secrecy", Meowth told her.

"What?!" Jessie exclaimed. "He….you….no way!"

"Take a chill pill, Jess", Meowth replied, dodging Jessie's gasp as she attempted to throttle him for answers. Jessie was quick though, and she grabbed onto the fur beneath his chin with her perfectly filed nails. He should have known this would be risky.

"I'll tell yous if yous promise not to kill me", Meowth choked out.

"Ok, then talk", Jessie said, releasing him onto the bar counter.

"Geeze", Meowth muttered as he got up. He rubbed his throat before explaining the rest.

"So, dis mornin', James comes up to me, and he's cryin' his widdle eyes out", he started.

Jessie shuddered. "He was crying? And he didn't even say anything to me? What the fuck did I do to him?"

"….anyways", Meowth continued. "Jimmy's all sad, and when I ask him what's wrong, he tells me dat he is all upset dat yous forgot yere anniversary".

"What? We already celebrated our anniversary! Oh god, don't tell me he's already starting to lose it. Its only been six years…..", Jessie responded anxiously.

"Not yere weddin' anniversary, de anniversary of de day yous first met", Meowth explained. "It's been almost exactly twenty years since yous first met".

"It has?" Jessie asked. She thought about it for a few moments. She met James when they were nine, at Pokémon tech. She honestly couldn't remember how old they were now, since she refused to acknowledge any age after 25, but it seemed plausible. They were about that age….

"Remember now?" Meowth inquired.

"I…I guess. He doesn't have to be so bent out of shape about it though", Jessie scoffed. "I mean, I didn't even think he would remember something like that himself!"

"Well he did, and he dinks dat yous forgot, and it's destroyed his innocent widdle soul", Meowth told her.

" _That_ destroyed his soul? Please, there are much worse things that I have done to him in the past", Jessie replied. "Forgetting a minor anniversary is nothing".

"Well, it sure seemed like a big deal to him", Meowth responded. "I probably shouldn't mention dis, but James told me dat he dinks dat yous are startin' to fall outta love with him".

"James did not say that, get lost, furball", Jessie said angrily pushing him off the bar.

Meowth recovered and blocked Jessie's way so that she couldn't exit.

"Look Meowth…." She started, flexing a fist.

"No, yous look", He replied. "James says dat he wasn't plannin' much cuz he dought dat yous were gonna do it togetha. Den yous never mentioned anythin' and he dought yous were plannin' a surprise. I broke the news to him, told him dat you weren't plannin' nothin', and it made him really sad. He says dat he dinks you don't love him anymore and dat yous are bored with him and with Pallet Town".

Jessie stopped trying to get passed Meowth.

"So, supposing this is true, what should I do?" Jessie asked him.

"Well, I know fere sure dat he would really like to have a big party. He said dat if he were plannin' it himself, he would invite everyone yous know, and order a lot of food, especially seafood. And also there would be music and rides and lots of desserts", Meowth explained.

Meowth gave her more details about what should be at the party. Jessie took out a pen and paper and wrote down everything he said.

"Ok, so when is this anniversary?" Jessie asked him.

"Yous got five days", Meowth responded.

"Ha! I can handle this", Jessie scoffed. "No big deal".

Jessie pushed passed Meowth and headed towards the car. Meowth watched her go, another smirk rising on his furry face.

 _"Dis is goin' better den I planned_ ", he thought to himself.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That night five-year old Annastasia sat on the floor, curled up next to James' Arcanine Growly while she and a handful of their Pokémon watched a movie. Logan and Lily insisted on watching the "Aristocats", and since no one, not even Acorn and Aliyah, could wrestle the remote away from them, they were stuck watching it. Meowth and Lucy were curled up asleep on the couch behind them, and Jessie and James were in the kitchen cleaning up after an uncharacteristically quiet dinner.

"James, is something bothering you?" Jessie asked as he scrubbed away at one of the soiled pots.

"No, but I was going to ask you that same question", James responded without looking up from the pot.

"You are very quiet", she pointed out.

"So are you", he answered back.

Jessie walked up to him and took the pot out of his hand. She set it down on the counter and forced him to look at her. James recognized that look, and knew immediately what she wanted from him. Jessie pursed her lips as James inwardly giggled. They took each other's hands and walked up the stairs.

"Wobbufet, watch Annastasia for us. We are going to be busy for a while", Jessie called over to the Pokémon, most of whom were still absorbed in the movie.

"Wobba!" The Pokémon called after her.

Meowth opened a tired eye, just in time to see them climb up the last stair.

" _Perfect_ ", he thought to himself.

The next few days went similarly, just as Meowth had planned.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So, Misty and I got the same invitation as you, go figure", Ash spoke into his IPhone.

He and Misty were on a short vacation in the Alola region. Misty was nominated for some water Pokémon trainer award, and the ceremony was held there a few nights ago. The young couple decided take advantage of the discounted hotel prices and spend a few extra nights. Now he was talking to Brock and Autumn, discussing a letter that had just been delivered to him by the Team Rocket Delibird.

"I bet they are just looking for an excuse to throw a party", Brock surmised.

"Probably", Misty and Brock said in unison.

"We can expect to see Serena and Clement their too", Autumn said, cutting into the conversation.

"You talked to them?" Misty asked.

"Serena just texted me", Autumn replied.

"Oh, and Cilan just texted me", said Brock, checking his phone. "So I guess he and Iris will be there too".

The four friends chatted for a while and agreed to meet at the party. It wasn't long before they checked Facebook, and discovered that Jessie and James had literally invited everyone they knew to the party.

"This is going to be interesting", said Misty as she scratched Azuril on the head.

"From one party to the next", said Ash. "What do you think, should we announce our engagement while everyone is together in one place?"

"Let's just see how long it takes them to notice the ring", Misty replied

"Pi ka", Pikachu agreed.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Somehow the couple managed to plan the entire party without noticing what the other was up to. No one made any comments about being invited twice, and Meowth craftily manipulated it so that the party wasn't only exactly what he wanted, but so that they were virtually identical, so the guests weren't given alternate times or expecting different things. He told no one but Lucy about his plan. It was the day of the party, early in the morning and Meowth was chatting with Lucy.

"I don't get it. Why is this so great?" Lucy asked him after he explained his 'genius' plot to her.

"Cuz! Dink 'bout it. Not only are dey off our backs, busy plannin' and whatever, but weeze get dis awesome party. Presents, Desserts, and tons of seafood. And all cuz I told dem a little while lie", Meowth said proudly.

"And when they find out?" Lucy inquired.

"Dey will dank me!" Meowth exclaimed.

"Mmmhhh", she mumbled sarcastically. "You know that if you ever lie to me, I will kill you in your sleep".

"Nah, you don't really mean dat", Meowth replied, waving his paw. "Yous love me too much".

Lucy walked away, deciding that she had enough Meowth for one day.

"Go find our kids", she told him. "If you are lucky, you won't have to go down to the police station again to pick them up. Last time, they wanted five hundred dollars bail, each".

"K", Meowth called after her as she climbed back into the house through an open window.

Luckily, Lily and Logan were not arrested, and Meowth found them hanging out in Gary's lab. After dragging them back to the house by their feet, Meowth noticed that Jessie and James were alone in the kitchen together, getting ready to make themselves some breakfast. He opted to hide in the air vent above them so that he could see their reactions once they discovered what he already knew.

James pulled a bouquet of roses and handed them to Jessie, who was getting ready to boil water for tea.

"Jessie, I know, you thought I forgot, and I am sorry that you were upset. Meowth told me that you were really sad and I decided to plan us a party to celebrate. I can't believe it has been twenty years since we first met! The guests are coming today at 2, and Meowth told me just what you wanted, so I made sure to get everything you asked for", James told her. "Happy 20th Anniversary!"

James kissed her and then took a step back to gaze at her. Jessie accepted the flowers and looked at him quizzically. _He_ thought that _she_ was the one upset about forgetting? What about the whole 'cryin' his widdle eyes out' crap that Meowth had preached? And he planned the party? Something was fishy, and it wasn't the two hundred pounds of seafood that she had sitting in the garage fridge…..She will worry about Meowth later. Now she had James to deal with.

"James, I was never upset", she told him. She carefully pulled the whisps of hair that always fell in his face aside and tucked it behind his ear. He kissed his cheek softly.

"You weren't?" he asked, clearly bewildered.

 _"Meowth said that she threatened to take Annastasia and put our relationship on hiatus"_ , he thought to himself. " _Did he lie_?"

"No. I thought you were the one who was upset. Meowth said that you were freaking out because you thought I didn't care", Jessie told him. "He said that you were crying about it".

"Jessie, that wasn't true at all. The truth is that I forgot. Meowth reminded me a few days ago and gave me a list of things that you wanted to have for the party. He said that if I didn't do something then you were going to be really angry and leave. Well, leave for a little while, at least", James amended.

"That cat played us", Jessie said angrily. "He tricked us into thinking we had an anniversary to celebrate. We planned this whole party for him, not us".

"So does that mean it really isn't the 20th anniversary of the day we first met?" James asked.

"I don't think so. I bet Meowth just made it up. Who keeps track of those sort of things?" Jessie replied. "Ugh. This is terrible. I am going to kill him!"

"Wait, Jess, this might not be so bad", James told her.

"James, this party cost us thousands of dollars", she complained. "At least, that is how much I spent. I imagine you just about matched".

"Yeah", he replied sheepishly. "But maybe it really is our 20th anniversary, and we just don't know it".

"There is no way to know. I can't believe he tricked us like that. He used us", she ranted.

"We'll get our revenge", James told her, bringing an evil smile to her face.

Jessie placed the roses in a vase and helped James prepare breakfast for the two of them, Annastasia, and the Pokémon.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later dozens of people started to arrive at their humble estate. Family members, Team Rocket agents, Gym leaders, Frontier Brains, Pokémon experts from all over the world, and of course, Ash and all of his friends.

"Hi Annastasia", Delia said sweetly as she pulled the little girl into a hug. "I got you a present".

"Thank you, Aunt Delia", Annastasia replied, taking the gift from her godmother.

"Mommy! Look what I got!" Annastasia yelled happily as she opened the gift. It was a little Jigglypuff-shaped bell to go on her bicycle.

"I heard you might be needing that now that you have a big-girl bike", Delia told her.

"I can use it for my bike when I go on my Pokémon journey!" she exclaimed.

Annastasia gave Delia a high-five and then ran over to Giovanni and his Persian, giving them each a hug before running off to greet the rest of the crowd.

"Congratulations", Delia told Jessie, who was talking to Mondo and Rumika.

"Thank you, But I have to tell you something", Jessie explained.

Jessie told them about Meowth's little prank, which the three of them evidently found hilarious.

"Well, its not like you haven't fooled people in the past", said Rumika.

"James and I are going to get him back", Jessie assured them.

Annastasia was telling Cynthia and Alexa about all the Pokémon she met at Gary's lab while James sat with her and tried to come up with a way to get Meowth back. Then it hit him, the perfect plan. He couldn't wait to tell Jessie.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Misty, I missed you so much!" Sakura exclaimed as she pulled her good friend into a tight hug.

"Spee!" said Sakura's Espeon, who rubbed up against Misty affectionately.

Misty patted the Pokémon on the head. "I missed you too, Espeon", she told it.

Sakura noticed the stunning blue-diamond ring on Misty's finger, and almost exploded with excitement.

"Misty, you're engaged?!" she gasped, grabbing her friend's wrist.

"Yes", she admitted, turning scarlet in the process.

"Since when?" she asked.

"Since last week", Misty replied. "We didn't tell anyone yet, not even my sisters or Ash's parents".

"You should tell everyone here while we are all together", Sakura responded.

"I think we might, but this isn't our party. It's Jessie and James'. It would be kind of obnoxious to steal the show", Misty told her.

"That's a good point", Sakura agreed.

"Zuuuuu Azuril"

"Espeeeee"

"I bet everyone will notice that ring", Sakura commented.

"Yeah. I figured that", Misty confessed.

A moment later Ash came up to them, Pikachu resting on his shoulder.

"Oh Ash!" Sakura exclaimed, grabbing him and pulling him into a hug.

"Piiiii", Pikachu complained.

"Sorry Pikachu", said Sakura, letting go of Ash.

"Um, what did I do?" he asked. "Not that I don't appreciate the free hug".

"Congratulations! I can't believe you are engaged. How old are you? I thought you were a year older than me, so you are like, 23?" she guessed. "I am so happy for you two".

"Oh. Thanks", Ash replied, smiling broadly. "Yeah. I am 23".

"I can't believe my friends are old enough to get married. It seems like just yesterday we were all preteens going on our Pokémon journeys", said Sakura.

"Espeon", her Pokémon agreed.

"I always said that time flies when you are with Ash", Misty commented.

"I was just going to ask you if you wanted some chocolate fondue", said Ash. "They have a massive chocolate fountain in the backyard".

"Mmmm. I bet Ritchie and Casey would like that. I will go get them", said Sakura as she dashed off to go fetch her two best friends.

"I love her" Misty said as Sakura ran off.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said happily as he spotted a table with some burgers and ketchup. He leapt off of Ash's should to go get some.

Ash and Misty joined Brock and Autumn at the chocolate fountain. They were helping little Annastasia get some chocolate into a mug so that she could dunk some cookies into it.

"Ash, isn't this incredible?" said Brock as he handed Annastasia the cup full of melted chocolate. "Leave it to Jessie and James to order a chocolate fountain".

"Thanks Brock", Annastasia said as she started to drink it down.

Misty hastily grabbed the mug from her, telling the child that if she drank all that chocolate down at once, then she was going to get a stomachache. Autumn noticed the ring on her finger the moment her hand touched the cup.

"OMG you're engaged!" she squealed.

"What?" said Brock and Annastasia in unison.

"Pup pup?" barked her Lillipup.

"Yeah, surprise", said Misty, blushing slightly as she showed Autumn and Brock the ring.

"Can I wear it?" the little girl asked innocently. She looked up at Misty with her large turquoise eyes.

 _"She looks like James when she pouts_ ", Misty thought to herself. "Sorry Annastasia, this is really expensive, and I can't take it off until I'm married. It's the rules", she explained.

"Ok", Annastasia said softy.

Annastasia left the four of them alone to talk about the exciting news, and then proceeded to tell everyone at the party about Misty's engagement to Ash.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meowth was having the time of his life. Everything had worked out just the way he planned. Jessie and James threw a monster party, and it had all his favorite foods, loads of presents, and he got to see all his Pokémon friends that he hadn't seen in a while. He also got to show off Lucy, Lily, and Logan to Butch and Cassidy's Houndoom and Raticade, who always teased him about being a 'freak Pokémon'. Though Jessie and James talked about revenge, they didn't seem too upset about having everyone there. James was especially happy to see his grandparents again and Jessie loved to show off more than anything. It was late in the evening now and everyone was either heading back home or heading to the hotel. James had just gone to put Annastasia to bed, and Jessie was talking to Delia about Annastasia. Meowth was sitting on the roof, watching everyone slowly leave the party.

"So Meowth, looks like your little scheme was a success", Lucy said as she curled up next to him.

"Yep. Dis was good fere all of us", said Meowth. "Weeze all ended up havin' a good time in de end".

"Your are actually right", the Purrloin responded, rubbing her face against his neck.

"Dat's right", he replied.

An hour later everyone was gone from the yard except for Jessie and James. Lucy had gone into the house, and Meowth was coming back down from the roof to join his two friends in front of the enormous chocolate fountain.

"So Meowth, looks like you won", said James as he ate a piece of chocolate-covered banana from the fountain.

"You sure got us", Jessie agreed.

"Yeah, well, I always say dat yous two would be nothin' without Meowth", Meowth told them proudly. He crossed his arms smuggled and closed his eyes.

Jessie and James smirked simultaneously and grabbed Meowth by the limbs.

"Hey….what…..?" Meowth stuttered.

The scratch cat Pokémon hardly had time to react before Jessie and James dumped him into the chocolate fountain.

"Ahhhh! Yous! Look what yous done! Gemme outta here!" he shrieked.

Meowth was completely covered in partially melted chocolate, and he struggled to get out of the gooey mess. Lucy, Lily, and Logan and a handful of the other Pokémon watched from the kitchen window, and they laughed uncontrollable when they saw what the two humans had done to him.

"You can get out, after all, you said it yourself: you are the only one who knows what they are doing around here", Jessie told him.

"That's what you get for lying to us", said James.

"You are lucky we went easy on you", Jessie added. "Next time we won't turn the burner off first".

Jessie and James linked arms and then headed back into the house, leaving Meowth alone in the backyard. The chocolate was cooling and hardening. Eventually he managed to climb out, but he had to sleep outside since Lucy locked him out of the house to prevent him from getting the chocolate goo all over the place.

"Well, at least I had my party", he thought to himself before finally drifting off to sleep that night.

The next morning a squawking Doduo waked Meowth up extra early…


	13. Dear Nanny and Pop-pop

Dear Nanny and Pop-pop

 **Spoilers Alert:** There isn't one! I do have an explanation, though: I wrote this because someone posted an adorable (but sad) picture on Tumblr and I was like "I want in on that" so I wrote this. It isn't my best (I did it in one sitting-technically a standing since I have a stand-up desk) and it really doesn't have much to do with  Stand by You but I just thought I should add it here. It is on this account as a separate story as well. It takes place during the Kalos arc and is told from James' point of view. The official summary is that he is writing a letter to his grandparents describing a rather disturbing thing that happened to him a week earlier. The pic was originally posted by buchichu. If you can, follow them on Tumblr. I don't know this person, but I bet they would appreciate it. It already got one review, thanks Julia Togepi :) I will try to post that picture at the bottom of this page but IDK if it will come out.

 **Characters** : Team Rocket Trio, Wobba Wob, Inkay, Gourgeist and OC.

 **Rating:** K+

Dear Nanny and Pop-pop,

Sorry for not writing last week. Jessie had another performance, and like I mentioned before, it is a group effort to get her ready. I hope you are all doing well. I wish we were closer, but we have no choice but to stay in Kalos for a while. I don't want to cause you any anxiety, but I know you always watch the news for the regions in which we are traveling. I want to explain some things before you see our faces on Kalos television. Like, I said, do not worry, and give me a chance to explain.

I guess the best thing to do is to start from the very beginning. So I suppose it started last week. It was just a typical day, Saturday, I think, though it could have been Friday or Sunday...Anyway, we were camping out near Kiloude City, and we were spending the day at the mall. I was sitting in the waiting area outside the changing rooms inside this huge clothing store while Jessie tried on clothes. Meowth was napping by my side and Wobbufet was busy putting away the dresses and shoes that Jessie had already rejected.

"James, is this dress enough, or should I add the bolero?", Jessie asked me as she came out of the changing room.

I stood up to get a closer look, observing the dress from all angles, with and without the bolero. Normally I hated these shopping sprees, but Jessie has learned to cool it over the years. I don't mind shopping and giving her my advice as long as we can keep the trips to under four hours and stay under the budget. Besides, if she got an outfit she felt confident in, she would be more likely to win at the Pokémon performances, and that would benefit the whole team.

"I think it looks better without a bolero", I decided. "Unless you think you are going to be cold".

"Nah, I will be moving around on stage", she replied.

Jessie's eyes shifted away from mine and I could tell she was looking at something behind me. I assumed it was Wobbufet, until I saw the blue blob of a Pokémon sit down next to me.

"Woba Woba!" he said excitedly as he observed Jessie in her dress. A blush appeared on his face as he smiled at his favorite trainer.

I turned to see what Jessie was looking at. It was a man. He walked away quickly when he saw me.

"Do you know who that was?" I asked, a bit annoyed that he was spying on us like that and then ran when I noticed him.

"No…", she answered, her eyes still staring at the space where he stood.

"Um, so if you want to change, I will return the bolero", I told her.

"I'll wear this one out", she said, with a slick smile on her face.

"Fine", I sighed.

Jessie knew I had a talent for removing those locked tags that sprayed ink on the clothing if you tried to remove the tag without seeing a cashier. She turned so her back was facing me. I reached down her neck and felt around until a felt the tag in my hand. I pulled it up and with a small metal pick, the perfect amount of force, precision, and a little bit of luck, I was able to get the tag off without a single drop of ink spilling on the brand new dress. It wasn't the first time we pulled this stunt. After all, we really couldn't afford a dress like that at the moment. After I was done I did the same to the bolero. Trust me, I wasn't proud, but after all, whoever was running this department store surely had more dough than the three of us did.

"Thanks doll", she said playfully, patting me on the head like a child.

Jessie proceeded pull at Meowth's whiskers until he woke up, and then the four of us left the store. Meowth complained, Wobbufet refused to return to his ball, and my stomach growled while Jessie led us back to camp. When we got back, Jessie stripped down to her bikini and lay out for a tan, despite it being only 65 degrees, and Meowth drooled over the stove while I cooked us lunch. Like I said, it was a typical day.

"Excuse me, miss?" I heard an unfamiliar voice from behind the tent, over where Jessie was 'tanning'.

"What do you want?" Jessie responded rudely, classic Jess.

The man lowered his voice and a could hardly hear what they two of them were saying over the cackling fire and our Pokémon chatting in the background. I told Meowth to go check to see what was up while I took care of the food. He scrambled into the a bush and peeped at Jessie and the stranger. I sighed again, because I didn't mean for him to spy on her, I meant for him to go talk to them.

Five minutes later, Jessie came back to camp. Meowth jumped out from under the bush and acted natural. She didn't suspect that he had been watching her.

"I am going for a walk", she announced.

"Before lunch?" I asked.

"Yes", she answered curtly as she pulled a loose skirt and tank top over her bathing suit. Wobbufet handed her the bolero we had swiped.

"Does dat mean I can eat yere portion?" Meowth asked her.

"No way! Save it for me", she replied. "I want to eat it when I get back. And if not here waiting for me, then you two will pay".

"When are you coming back?" I asked. Jessie and I normally went out together and rarely ventured out on our own.

"I'll be back before nightfall, I promise", she answered.

She put her Pokeballs in a small purse and left, ordering Wobbufet to stay behind. When she had walked a good distance away Meowth jumped onto the rock next to me and waved his paw at me, indicating that he wanted to whisper something in my ear.

"Jessie's goin' out on a date", he informed me.

"Oh", I replied. "With who?"

"Some guy with bright red hair", he answered.

I didn't know anyone around our age that had bright red hair, other than Jessie, but I did know who Meowth was talking about. It was that man from the store. She left with the guy who was spying on us.

"What did he say?" I asked Meowth.

I didn't like the idea of my best friend running off with some stranger, especially some guy who was watching us but was too creepy to come say hi to me.

"He asked Jessie if she was married", Meowth replied, giggling a little.

I giggled too. I wasn't exactly a ladies' man, but than isn't how I would have started a conversation with a woman I wanted to ask out.

"Well, she obviously said 'no' and den he's like 'well den maybe weeze should go out'. Jessie got all red and den agreed. That's 'bout it", Meowth explained.

"Did they mention where they were going?" I asked Meowth.

"Why, yous wanna follow her?" he asked suspiciously.

"No, its just that if it gets dark and she still hasn't returned, I want to know where to start looking for her", I answered.

It was true. I didn't have any intention of following them. I would never intrude on her privacy like that. She told me everything anyways, its not like this was some big secret that she was going to hideaway.

"Jim, she don't need you to protect her", said Meowth. "She's tougher den yous".

"I know that. But the three of us are a team and we need to know where are members are at all times", I responded.

"Yeah, well I'm still more worried about yous getting hurt by a stranger den Jessie", he replied.

"Just eat your food", I told Meowth, suddenly very annoyed with my scratch cat team member.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Jessie returned four hours later, about five minutes until sundown. She was alone. I was waiting for her by the fire while Meowth was out hunting.

"Wobbufet!" yelled Wobbufet. He ran up to Jessie and hugged her when he saw her coming.

"Hey Jess", I said softly.

"You finished eating?" she asked, sitting down next to me.

"No, but the food is ready now", I told her.

"I saw the fleabag on my way here", said Jessie. "He was looking for bugs to eat. Disgusting".

"I suppose it is just his natural instinct", I replied.

"You sound sad. What happened? Did the fleabag call you names again?" Jessie asked jokingly as she stuffed her face with a rice ball. She poked me playfully in the ribs, and I couldn't help but smile and giggle a little bit.

"Nah, I was just bored is all. I didn't expect you to leave for that long", I answered.

I felt guilty as soon as the words left my mouth. I sounded needy, and I didn't want to make her feel bad for going out on her date. She had every right too. I was just answering her question honestly, it's true that without her around I get pretty lonely.

"I didn't think I would be gone long either", she responded with her mouth still full of food. "Sorry 'bout that".

"Its ok. So Meowth told me that some guy came along and asked you out", I said. No point in pretending I didn't know, not when my partner could read me like a book.

"Argh. I hate when he spies on me. Well its true, I had a date. I was going to tell you anyway", Jessie responded.

"I figured. So who was that guy? Do you know him from somewhere?" I asked.

"He has been to my last few performances. He says that he is a big fan of mine", she answered. "He has been watching me and cheering me on since my very first performance".

I never saw this guy before, but then again, as time went on Jessie was accumulating more and more fans. We knew the names of almost none of them, and they just seemed to blend in with the crowd. He could have been there all along without any of us noticing.

"Well he has good taste", I replied. "Do you like him?"

"James, it has only been one date", she answered. "I really don't know that much about him. He is handsome, but he didn't even kiss me".

For some reason I felt relieved. Jessie tended to get infatuated with handsome guys, whether or not they showed interest in her. At least she wasn't obsessive over this guy. I wasn't in the mood to deal with that again. Not so soon after the Dr. White incident I told you about.

"So I guess he asked you out again", I said after a moment of silence.

"Yep, but I declined. There was just something about him….you know what I mean?", said Jessie.

I knew exactly what she meant. Jessie looked a little bit sad, just like I supposed I looked like at the moment. I didn't really understand it. Camping out for so long was probably starting to get to us. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a side hug. She returned it, then sighed and rested her head on my shoulder. We stayed like that for a while, then Meowth came back.

"Are yous two going to take a bath?" he asked us, scrunching up his face in disgust, pretending that we reeked.

"In the morning", we replied together, too tired to do much else.

Jessie and I took off our day clothes and folded them for the night. We stayed up reading for a few hours before nodding off. Meowth curled up by our feet.

At around midnight I could have sworn I saw a shadow and heard someone curse. Jessie was still asleep next to me and Meowth hadn't budged since he fell asleep one hour previously. I carefully removed Jessie arms from my chest (she often had dreams that involved grabbing, beating, or hugging me in her sleep) and I got up to look around. No one was in sight, so I shrugged it off. I went back into the tent and passed out a few minutes later.

The next morning we headed straight for the hot springs, which were about a thirty-minute walk from our camp. They were private springs, the best place to bath. It was expensive but we made a habit of sneaking in to these things. We simply had one of our Pokémon distract the manager while Jessie, Meowth and I bathed in luxury. It worked every time.

"See, dis water is de kind of water dat Meowth approves of", the Pokémon announced as he slid his body into the pool.

Jessie and I routinely bathed together, which wasn't as weird as it may sound. We weren't really embarrassed around each other, and we both liked having someone there to wash our backs. Neither of us trusted Meowth to do it. After we scrubbed the two days worth of dirt and sweat off our bodies, the three of us closed our eyes and relaxed.

"Uh oh", Meowth said after a few minutes. "I dink we're in trouble".

"What?! Are you saying that someone is coming?" Jessie demanded. "Crap, Wobbufet is usually good at distractions"

"I'm saying dat someone's already here", he replied, his ear's perking up in alert. "and it don't sound like Wobbufet or de manager of de springs".

I shuddered involuntarily. It was just like last night. Was someone watching us?

"Let's get out of here", Jessie said, standing up and wrapping a towel around her. She threw a towel at me and Meowth too.

"Don't bother, dere gone now", said Meowth as he tossed the towel aside and slinked back into the pool.

"Are you positive? Meowth, if some creep is peeping on us and you don't say anything I swear to god I will…."Jessie started, her temper rising.

"Chill Jess", Meowth responded. "I promise. Nobody's here. Dey left. Let's just go back to relaxin''".

Meowth closed his eyes and relaxed, but Jessie and I had a bit of a harder time. Humans are like that, after all, we don't usually like the idea of having strangers watching us bath or listening in on our private conversations.

So after we cleaned ourselves we enjoyed a breakfast of wild berries and some peanut butter we had left over from the convenience store we robbed last week. We tracked the twerp. We weren't going to focus on stealing Pikachu today, as Jessie and I were too sore from the last blast off, but it was still good to know where he was for next time.

We did managed to catch some of those stupid Vanillite though. Jessie and I almost kept one for ourselves, but the things were so damn annoying, that we sent them to the boss the moment we had a chance. As usual, he was not very pleased with us when we called to tell him about our latest catch. Something about them not being 'rare' enough for him. I still was angry at the boss for holding Mime Jr. and Carnivine from me, but I was too afraid at the moment to ask for them back. Last time I asked the boss was outraged and said that he needed us to gain experience by learning to capture and train wild Pokémon for ourselves. He said that is what made us successful in Unova. Anyway, I am rambling. But these are the thoughts I was thinking when it happened.

I was alone at camp. After reporting to the boss and changing into our typical day-clothes (not our uniforms), Jessie went to use the public restroom while Meowth took a catnap. Wobbufet was in his ball for once and so was Inkay. I heard footsteps but before I could turn around, someone hit me, hard. The force of the punch to the back of my head caused me fall over, but I didn't hit the ground. He grabbed my shirt and just as I opened my eyes to see who was attacking me, he hit me again, this time breaking my glasses and giving me a black eye.

I yelled for help but the guy kept on attacking me. I fought back, and managed to apprehend my attacker, but everything changed when I noticed the dagger in his right hand, poised to stab me right in the stomach. From that angle he could stab me mercilessly. I let go and backed up.

"Please, wwhhaat ddo yyou wwantt?" I stuttered.

"Don't yell, or I will make this more painful then it needs to be", he responded, sending shivers down my spine.

Without my glasses or contacts, I could hardly see anything, but I did notice that the man had black hair and brown eyes. He didn't look familiar, and I could not think of one good reason a to why he would want to kill me, after all, most rational human beings would agree that thieves didn't deserve a death sentence. He started fighting me again, but this time it ended with the knife in my side. He pulled the knife out and pushed me back.

The man must not have noticed Meowth asleep under one of the towels from the hot springs. After he pushed me down I landed backwards on top of him, waking the Pokémon up immediately.

"What's de big idea?" Meowth growled as he jumped to his feet.

Seeing the situation in front of him, Meowth immediately sprung into action. He fury swiped the guy and wrestled the knife from his hand as he tried to stab me again. He released Inkay and the two of them fought him together. I honestly can't remember much after that. I was in a lot of pain and I was holing my hands to my wound, hoping that Meowth realized that humans were more vulnerable during these types of attacks than Pokémon were. Meowth continued to fight, and I remember Inkay coming up to me and chirping in my ear. He was crying. Poor thing. I must have looked really hurt. Meowth told him to go get Jessie, and he flew away. Everything after that is just flashy visions.

I had a fleeting vision of Jessie kneeling down next to me. She took off the bolero she was wearing and used it to cover up my wound. Wobbufet handed her the towel that Meowth had been using as a blanket and she wrapped it snuggly around my waist, covering the wound and forcing me to sit up. Gourgeist, Inkay, and Meowth managed to knock that guy out cold, and he was lying on the ground. Then I passed out too.

I was dreaming about being attacked by a gang of Vanillite when I awoke suddenly. Confused, I looked around at my surroundings. White walls, beeping machines, a hospital gown, an IV in my left arm, and two chairs hosting my two best friends on my only Pokémon.

"Innnnkay!" Inkay squeaked happily as I noticed him looking at me. He was blurry, as I no longer had my glasses, but I could tell he was glad I was awake.

As I hugged Inkay I looked over at Jessie and Meowth. They both looked back at me and gave me half-smiles.

"Yous scared us Jimmy", Meowth started. "I mean, without yous 'round, we woulda had to carry all dat stuff back to HQ on our own".

"Not to mention the boss would have blamed us for your death", Jessie added.

She was joking, but I could tell she was crying at some point. Her face was still a little red and she rubbed one last tear from her eye just to make sure they were all gone before I noticed.

"Innnnkay", Inkay said again, this time handing me my contacts.

"Thank you," I told him as I popped them in.

"So, can you explain why some stranger attacked me?" I asked hopefully.

"Yous mean yous don't know who dat was?" Meowth asked.

"No", I replied.

Then I realized that the situation was probably even more confusing for Meowth and Jessie than it was for me. Meowth was sleeping and Jessie was just walking back to camp when they found out I was stabbed by some unknown man. I guess I just hoped they would have some answers for me. After all, they did rescue me and take that guy down.

"Meowth, can you leave so I can talk to James alone?" she asked.

"What? How come?" he whined.

"Just leave or you are going to end up with your own hospital bed!" she spat back.

"Geeze, I'm leavin'" he answered, cursing Jessie on his way out of the room.

Meowth slammed the door and Jessie rolled her eyes. I looked at her in confusion, waiting for her to explain something to me. She knelt down next to my bed and smiled. To my surprise, she burst into tears and pulled me into a hug. I didn't really know what to say, so I just hugged her back, even though. It was painful, physically, I mean. Then I begged for her to let go, as it hurt to have her on top of me like that.

"It was that fan guy", Jessie told me.

"Fan guy?" I repeated, initially not understanding.

"Just let me explain, and don't interrupt, and don't tell Meowth" she replied.

"Okay", I agreed, waiting for her to continue.

"The person who attacked you was the guy I went out with yesterday. His name is Timothy. He must have gotten jealous or something after I rejected him for a second date", she confessed.

"Why would anyone be jealous of me?" I asked, incredulous. This guy was a maniac, for sure.

"Well before he asked me out, I told him I was single. He seemed very interested in my life, so I told him about you and how we traveled together. I obviously didn't mention Team Rocket, but I did talk about our partnership. After I said no to a second date, I guess he was spying on us. That must be who Meowth heard in the springs. He probably didn't like the idea of us in there together. I guess he though if he got rid of you…" Jessie explained.

"Oh", I said. That made sense. This wasn't the first time suitors had backed away after seeing our partnership, but no one had ever taken extreme measures and tried to kill one of us off.

"This is my fault, I suppose I shouldn't have talked about you", she said after a few moments. "Shit, if it weren't for me, you'd be fine right now".

"Actually Jess, I sorta have a confession too", I started. I explained how I noticed that guy watching us at the store, and then again in the middle of the night.

"Well, there is nothing we could do about it now except sue that bastard for everything that he is worth", she replied angrily.

"I sorta hurt everywhere. What exactly did he do to me, and what happened after I passed out?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Meowth and I hide all our Team Rocket stuff and then called an ambulance to take you and him away. We told the doctors and police that he attacked you and that you managed to knock him out right before passing out. We left out the part about our Pokémon attacking him, we don't need anyone to know about that part. Anyway, we stayed with you, I told them I was you wife and Meowth was our pet so that they could let us in. They took you to the ICU and then ran a bunch of tests. You got three broken ribs, a broken arm, a concussion, and it is going to take a while for that wound in your side to heal. The doctor said that despite all that, you were lucky though, since if that stab was only a few more inches to the left, you would have been killed no doubt. Oh, and you have a black eye and need another pair of glasses. You have been asleep for about six hours".

"Hm. You'd think I'd be less torn up with all that experience blasting off", I mused.

"Well, we have gotten used to having the parachutes ready", Jessie replied.

Someone knocked on the door and Jessie called to asked who it was.

"It's me", a scratchy voice replied. "If yous two done actin' all love-love in dere, I'm bored and would like to come back in".

Jessie got up and let Meowth in. He plopped onto the bed. A doctor followed behind.

"Your friend here told me you were awake", the doctor told me. "Smart Meowth, he is"

Meowth looked at me and Jessie proudly before curling up on the windowsill and taking a nap. Jessie scowled.

"Yeah, I just got up a few moments ago", I answered.

He asked me a bunch of personal questions about my health and then checked my vitals. He told me I would have to stay a few days. I told him that was fine, since we didn't plan on leaving for a few days, but secretly I was bummed. Not only was I stuck here being poked and prodded by strangers is lab coats, but Jessie and Meowth would have to work harder to pick up my slack. My teammates were never really happy about having to do that. After he left. I turned to talked to my two friends.

"I already told de Boss what happened" Meowth announced.

"What did you say?" Jessie and I asked in unison.

"I don't him some psycho attack James, and when he didn't believe me, I sent him some photos", the cat announced.

"Thanks", I mumbled sarcastically.

"At least we have an excuse", said Jessie.

"He still wants us to go to work dough. He says dat it's a shame but dat don't mean we can spend a week just sittin' around waitin' fere James to get better", Meowth told us.

"Then let's get to work", said Jessie. "James, you don't mind if we leave, right?"

I sorta did mind, but I knew that they were just going to get bored and cranky here. Hospitals sucked for everyone, visitors included. So I told them to go on ahead and to call me later tonight.

I didn't have to worry because three hours later, the two of them returned will all types of stolen goodies. The three of us enjoyed a forbidden picnic before we drifted off to sleep. I supposed the hospital staff didn't mind them staying the night, after all, Jessie had told them that the two of them were my closest family.

So that is it. Now I am healed and everything is back to normal. We ended up not suing the guy, since apparently they would have to do a background check on us, and Jess and I would surely fail that. He did go to jail though, so I am not worried that he is going to attack me again. Please don't worry about me. For now on I am going to always keep my Pokémon close to me. I hope Chimecho is doing well. Tell him that I said hi and that hopefully we can visit soon. I know we will be returning to Kanto soon and we will stop by so you can meet our other Pokémon. Please take care

Hugs and Smiles,

Little James.

the end.

xxxxxxxxx

AN: Thank you for reading! If this link doesn't work or doesn't show up just look them up on Tumblr and check their archive. I also have it reblogged to my Tumblr, which is pokemonshipsblogwithteamrocket and my friend has it on hers which is pokemonfanthings. we have awesome artwork and other goodies there. Aloha for now

picture:

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2\. . /aaae5ef7e755661fa26a262b5c59346d/tumblr_o0uqdmND4Z1tf9lo9o2_r1_

3\. . /8b91bc9c5eec2d16c66974bc34e844b4/tumblr_o0uqdmND4Z1tf9lo9o3_r1_


	14. Wedding Wars

Wedding War

 **Spoiler Warning:** This scene takes place immediately after the Epilogue of  Stand by You. It is the last thing for this universe/storyline I am posting before I add the official sequel, which will be called Heroine and is coming by next week (first week of June 2016). Please finish Stand by You or else you will probably be like, wtf is goin' on? Sorry it is sorta long, it just had to be this way. Thank you and please review if you have the timeJ

 **Characters:** Basically everyone that I ever mentioned in this story

 **Rating:** K+

AN: Disclaimer- I don't own Pokémon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There was no denying that the entire site was a disaster.

Just a few moments ago everything was so peaceful. It was the perfect day: all their plans worked out accordingly, the weather was good, no one was missing or hurt, and everyone, even the people that sorta despised the couple, was glad to be there, even if it was just for the vacation and free food. But their lives weren't perfect.

Now smoke and poisonous gas filled the air. Thunderbolts and shadowballs collided. Chairs, instruments, and even people and Pokémon were being lifted and thrown by psychic attacks. Though the battlers were mostly calm, cool and collected, the cries of a few small children could still be heard among all the crashing and banging.

"You said you were afraid this was going to happen?" A young dragon master accused Giovanni. "As in, you knew there was a possibility, and you didn't warn us?!"

"Calm, down, Iris, we have bigger problems", said Cilan as he tugged her hand, pulling her away from the Rocket boss and his fiancé, just in time to avoid her getting hit with a fireball.

"Yeah, what is up with that?" asked Sakura, who happened to overhear Iris' accusation.

"I didn't want to overwhelm everyone, especially since there was only a slight possibility", he explained. "But you can blame me later, down we have to stop these people".

On the other side of the clearing, Ash and Misty were using Pikachu, Greninja, Articuno, and Azuril to battle two large Charizard.

"Do you still want our wedding to be just like this?" Ash joked after Pikachu and Articuno knocked out one of the Charizard. "Though it might be more difficult to battle with those heels you mentioned".

"So you were listening", Misty replied. She released Corsola and ordered it to use spike cannon on an incoming Golbat. "I thought you were spacing out".

"Nah, I was just ignoring you for fun", he admitted.

"If you want to play games, then bring it on", Misty responded after defeating the Golbat. She caught it in a Pokeball for good measure. Ash looked at her quizzically.

"I could use one of these", she explained.

She was about to continue but a mega Charizard came out of nowhere and almost singed them to the bone. They adopted one of Team Rocket's classic fearhugs, and then, after recovering from embarrassment, they agreed to never admit that the trio had left that impression on them. After defeating the Mega Charizard, Ash caught it and they were joined by Ritchie, Casey, Paul, and a two members of the Elite four of Johto. Together the seven of them took on an entire herd of Venasaur, this time using the Pokémon they just captured to fight for them.

Jessiebelle had an entire league of bodyguards protecting her. This was beneficial for her sake, since Jessie was about ready to rip her throat out with her fresh manicure. Instead her, the baby, James, Lucy, Meowth, Logan, and Lily were under a powerful shield that Acorn and Aliyah had generated and Wobbufet was helping to reinforce.

"Jess, yous gotta get her outta here", Meowth told Jessie.

"For the fourth time Meowth, I KNOW!" Jessie yelled irritably.

"AHHHHHHH!" Annastasia wailed, making everyone sigh. "Mommy! Papa! Help!"

"Shh, it's ok Anna-chan", James said softy, rubbing her little foot.

"I say we do this. You stay here with the kids. Meowth, James, and I will go help fight", Lucy suggested.

"Purr pur?" Logan asked his mother. " _Does this mean you are leaving?"_

"Yes", she confirmed.

"Oh, and just leave me here to babysit?" Jessie complained. "No, I want to KILL her!"

"I'm not going to leave Jessie and Annastasia her alone, Lucy", James replied.

"And I don't wanna leave them either", said Meowth, looking at the little Meowth and Purrloin babies.

"Meowth, Lucy is right. We all just can't sit here. And if memory serves, Lucy taught you shadowball a few months back," said James. "You two are good fighters, go on. We will make sure nothing happens to them".

Meowth stared Jessie and James in the eyes. They were his only friends for a long, long time. Jessie's expression softened.

"Remember that time you took Annastasia to help me?" she asked.

Meowth quickly recalled the memory. Back then Meowth had only known one attack. In the midst of an ambush not unlike the one they were currently under, Jessie had to completely surrender every last ounce of trust and give Annastasia over to Meowth so that the two of them could hide while she helped James. Now he had to do the same for her.

"Ok", he decided.

He and Lucy rubbed heads with the kittens (as cat-types tended to do) and then exited the safe little bubble to go fight beside the others.

James let the Swablu that Giovanni had given Annastasia for her first birthday out of its ball. Jessie let out her new Ninetales, Growly's mate, as well as Growly himself. Jessie also released Lillipup. The sight of the familiar Pokémon helped to calm all three of them. A few moments later they heard an extra loud boom and the shield that was protecting them started to crack. Then they saw their two Mew and Wobbufet faint from exhaustion as the shield finally exploded.

They both screamed and scrambled to their feet. James returned Annastasia's Pokémon and ordered Growly to use Firespin on their assailants, who were coming at them with a hoard of random Pokémon. Lily and Logan hid behind James and Annastasia was safe in her mother's arms. Jessie ordered Ninetales to use firespin as well while she tried to return Wobbufet and Acorn, but it didn't work.

"James!" she cried. "They won't return!"

James tried to return Aliyah but it was no use. The fainted Pokémon would not go into their own Pokeballs A Team Firestar grunt took a master ball and captured all three of them. The couple gasped in horror.

"Our boss will be very happy to se that we captured these", the grunt teased, putting the three masterballs in a rucksack.

"No! Ninetales, Gourgeist, Frillish, Serviper, Swoobat, and Yanmega, do whatever it takes to get those balls back!" Jessie ordered, releasing her Pokémon.

"Jess, be careful, if the Mega ball gets them…." He stopped, remembering that they had Wobbufet too. That blue Pokémon was really annoying, but he had been part of their family for so long. He couldn't go. It would be too big of a loss.

James sighed and then released Amoongus, Yamask, and Raichu, reminding them to be extra mindful of the mega balls as they attacked their opponents. He noticed an electric bolt and psybeam nearly hitting the child that was in Jessie's arms, and it didn't take long for him to noticed that they were _aiming_ for her.

"Run Jessie!" James yelled, dragging her away from the scene.

"James…..what?" Jessie started.

"Keep fighting for us, and be careful!" he told his Pokémon as he continued to run with Jessie and the baby by his side.

"Where are we running _to?"_ she demanded.

"Anywhere", he gasped, the panic starting to rise in his chest.

"James, this is stupid, what if…" Jessie stopped talking when a clan of Firestar grunts jumped out in front of them.

James reached for his Pokémon. Luckily he and Jessie were allowed to carry extra Pokémon now, and he still had Carnivine, Cacturne, Inkay, Chimecho, Mime Jr., Swablu, and Lillipup on his person. Unfortunately, neither of them saw the person behind them, and the two of them were knocked out cold by the familiar scent of a Vileplume stun spore.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cynthia, Delia, and Giovanni had become the leaders of the wedding party that was currently fighting for their lives. It was clear that Team Firestar had recovered somehow, and there was no telling how or why. They had new weapons, helicopters, planes, Pokémon, and recruits, all seeming to have come out of nowhere. Though Giovanni and his spies suspected another uprising, they did not anticipate this scale. Things were starting to die down, and a few helicopters had already left the scene, but there were still agents on the ground fighting.

"Does this mean we are winning?" Bonnie asked Serena as she watched some enemies' retreat.

The two young women were covered in dirt, dust, scratches, and bruises. Their hair was disheveled and their clothing ripped and singed. They thought they were the only ones like that at first, until they looked around to see that all the guests were looking and feeling the same way.

"I don't know. I mean, we did capture a lot of their Pokémon", said Butch.

A lot of people started to get angry at his commented.

"They took my Raticade!" Bianca cried.

"They knocked out my entire team and stole my Macargo!" a boy named Egan raged.

"I can't find my Metang anywhere!" A guy named Morrison complained.

"And they took half our Golbat", said one of the Team Rocket grunts.

"And one of our best Venasaur", Cassidy informed him.

"Stop complaining, this isn't over yet", Giovanni scolded as another attack was aimed in their direction.

While the two gangs battled, and exhausted Meowth and Lucy were reunited with their kittens. They fled the scene and hid in the woods. Luckily no one followed them.

"Good to see yous are safe", Meowth told the young Pokémon as they squeezed into a family hug.

"Where are Jessie, James, and Annastasia? They were supposed to be with you," Lucy asked worriedly.

"Nyyyyyy Nya nyy", said Lily.

"Purrrrrrrrloin", said Logan.

"Yere sayin' yous don't know?" Meowth repeated.

"Uh Oh," he and Lucy said in unison.

Sakura ran up to them. Brock, May, Tracey, Iris, and Dawn followed her. They looked frantic.

"We can't find Ash and Misty anywhere", said Brock.

"Well, we gotta look for people too", Meowth responded.

"Who?" asked Dawn.

"Just de three most important people here", he answered "Other than us, of course".

"You mean you can't find Jessie or James?" asked Tracey.

Meowth and Lucy nodded and the others cursed and threw their heads back in frustration.

"Who is the third person?" asked Sakura.

Realization bloomed on her face before anyone even answered.

They exited the woods and reentered the battlefield. They searched around and asked the others if they saw any of their missing friends, but no one had seen them.

"Let's get Delia and Giovanni", said Brock, leading them towards the center of the field, where the boss and a few others were taking on some opponents.

"We can't find Misty, Ash, Jessie, James, or Annastasia", Brock called to them.

"What? Are you sure?" a frantic Delia asked.

"Look around. They aren't out here fighting. They were supposed to be watching Lily and Logan. Lily and Logan said that someone took them away", Lucy explained.

"And Ash and Misty wouldn't just run away during a battle like this", May added.

"Shit" Giovanni cursed.

"Sir, we can send our Pokémon after those planes", a Team Rocket agent named Proton suggested.

"Do it", he ordered.

"Yes sir!" a bunch of agents responded.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After Jessie and James were immobilized, Jessie's much-hated doppelganger took the baby from Jessie's arms and promptly delivered the child to their leader, who was waiting inside one of the helicopters.

"Perfect", said Lisa, taking the child in her arms. "Just what we need".

"I know", the young woman responded, sitting down next to her long time friend and business partner.

James and Jessie were roughly dragged to a cell that was conveniently located at the bottom of one of the gang's jets. When they woke up, they found that they had company.

"What going on?! Where are we?!" Jessie demanded. Tears were streaming down her face as she nearly strangled a speechless Misty.

"Let go of her!" Ash and James yelled simultaneously they wrested her away the innocent victim of her confusion and rage.

"What do you think you are doing!" Misty screamed back after Jessie finally released her.

The familiar sound of Misty's snippy voice snapped her out of it and a spell of silence fell over them.

"Sorry", Jessie mumbled after a few moments.

"We need to stay calm", James started, though his voice was filled with extreme panic and guilt. Jessie wasn't the only one to wake up and notice that someone very important was missing.

"And not try to kill one another", Misty added.

"First of all, how long were we out?" asked James. "When I got up, You two were already awake".

"I woke up first, then Ash a few minutes later. About five minutes passed then you got up at the same time", Misty explained.

"None of us have any Pokémon and we haven't seen or heard one person since we got here", Ash continued.

"Well, its clear that were are moving. Like in a car or boat or something", said James.

"I bet its one of those jets we saw", said Misty.

"That would make sense", he responded.

"Yeah, because that is just about the only thing that does right now", Ash added sadly.

"Jess, you alright?" James asked as he put a hand on her shoulder. "You aren't talking".

"Of course I am not alright", she responded, refusing to look him in the eyes. "This was supposed to be the best day of our lives".

"It's going to be okay", James responded, pulling Jessie onto his lap. Ash and Misty turned around in an attempt to give them some privacy. "We have been through worse in the past".

"Have we though? Think about, James. Our baby is either missing, dead, or still in the hands of people who want to hurt her, all our Pokémon are gone, we have no idea where we are or where we are going, we are probably going to be killed and/or tortured, we have no idea if our family and friends are ok, and what was supposed to be the happiest day of our lives was just destroyed", she cried. "And they have two of the most powerful Pokémon on their side, and they are going to use it to take over the world and make it a horrible place".

James was speechless, but he cried silently with her. They agreed that in situations like this, one of them had to be strong for the other.

"C'mon guys, we'll figure a way out", said Ash, turning to face them. "Don't give up 'till it's over".

"We are like an elite four of a different breed", Misty contributed. "We have faced sinking ships, being lost at sea, being trapped on a deserted island, burning buildings, haunted houses, war zones, and some of the world's most powerful Pokémon, always with the odds against us".

"Maybe we can pick the lock with something", Ash suggested. "James, aren't you good at that sort of thing?"

"Yes, but take a look at these locks", he responded, gesturing towards the restraints.

"I don't get it", Ash responded.

"If we try to break these locks, then it will set of an explosive, killing us all", Misty explained.

"How do you know?" asked Ash.

"TV", she answered.

"Well how do we know that this is real?" he questioned.

"It looks real to me", James responded. "Besides, do you really want to take that chance?"

"I guess you are right", Ash replied.

The four of them heard a crash. It sounded like there were people fighting. They got excited, thinking someone had come to rescue them. They started yelling, trying to grab the attention of whoever may have caused the ruckus above them. Then it stopped.

"I wonder…." Misty started. She decided to drop the thought and slump to the floor.

The three of them joined her. They soundlessly agreed that it was just too depressing to talk at a time like this.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Acorn and Aliyah were forced out of the Mega balls and into their original Mew form. Team Firestar agents placed them in thick glass chamber that they war unable to escape from. They locked the door with a key and put the rest of the mega balls in a cargo hold in the back of the helicopter. Lisa was still holding the infant, who was wailing in her arms.

"Can't you get her to shut up?" Jessiebelle snapped, turning to one of her lackeys.

One of the female lackeys stepped forward and tried to calm the infant, but it didn't work.

"I don't understand why you are keeping that thing alive", the man called Danny replied. "Just shoot it. Its no use to us now".

"This baby is our back-up plan", Lisa explained. "If those fools escape somehow, they are still going to come back for her".

"You think they will escape?" he asked incredulously.

"I am not going to underestimate them the way I did last time", she answered.

"I don't think you understand. These people are real pests, and we can't take chances now", Jessiebelle added.

"Meeeeewwwwww", Acorn and Aliyah cried together. They tried to use their telepathy to reach their masters, but no attacks worked inside the chamber. So they just cried and wished for someone to help them.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Off in the distant Seafoam Islands, Mewtwo and his family of cloned Pokémon were eating a meal together when a disturbing thought entered the leader's mind.

"Nya Nyyyy", the Meowth clone chanted, noticing the uncomfortable look on his friend's face.

"I am fine", Mewtwo told Meowth.

"Pory Vaporeon", said the Vaporeon clone.

"Its those Mew twins. I sense that they are in distress", Mewtwo informed them.

"Pikachu?" asked the Pikachu clone.

"I am not sure what is going on, but I can sense where they are", Mewtwo responded. "We need to help them. They are trapped and in danger. I can feel their aura. Ash's too".

"Blassstoiiisssee", said Blastiose.

"Yes, I want you to come with me", Mewtwo told him.

The Pokémon all agreed to help. Mewtwo used his psychic abilities to make them all invisible and they flew towards Kalos, where a group of people and Pokémon were praying for their help.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I am going to go insane!" Jessie screamed, kicking the bars with all her might. It had been about fifteen minutes since she first woke up in the cell, and the finality of their capture was causing her to panic. "Let me out of here and give me back my child or so help me I will…..!"

Jessie was interrupted by another loud bang. There were more screams. This time they felt themselves falling.

"It feels like were are descending, quickly", James said worriedly.

"We are going to crash!" Ash cried.

"No! I wont let us!" Jessie screeched.

"Oh, and how are you going to stop it?" Ash responded.

"I'm not read to die!" James whined. "There are so many things in life I still haven't gotten to do!"

The ground shook and everyone yelled even louder.

"STOP IT!" Misty yelled over them, forcing them all to stop panicking. "Talking like that isn't going to help us".

"She's right", Ash mumbled.

"Do you have a better idea?" Jessie asked sarcastically.

"Yes", she answered, pointing to a small Oddish. "We can ask it to get the key for us".

"But we are still going to crash", said James.

"No, if you haven't noticed, the plane isn't moving anymore", Misty pointed out.

She was right. Though it was a quick landing, they had indeed made it safely to the ground. "We have to work quickly though, they are probably going to come to get us any moment".

"James, you handle this", said Jessie, pushing him forward.

"Hey little guy", James said sweetly.

"Odd ish?" the Pokémon inquired.

"We need your help. Can you find the key that goes to this lock? James asked, pointing to the lock.

"Odd odd Oddish", the Pokémon responded, nodding up and down. It ran off, and the four trainers sighed in relief.

"I wonder why it was just roaming around here", Ash commented.

"That was Bonnie's Oddish", said Misty. "Team Firestar must have captured it. I bet they didn't bother locking it since it is such a small Pokémon and not very powerful".

"I didn't know she had an Oddish", said Ash.

"She just got it last week and she showed my before the wedding started", she explained.

A few moments later Oddish returned with the key. The four trainers didn't realize that little Oddish had used stun spore to knock out the guards, then searched for the keys. He planned on explaining things later.

"That was quick, thank you", said Misty as she scooped the little blue Pokémon up in her arms.

They ran out of the plane, only to be met with more chaos. They were on some kind of island. All their friends, families, and allies were there, fighting with Team Firestar.

"Ash! You are alright!" yelled Serena, who was the first to notice him. She ran over and pulled him and Misty into a hug.

"Uhh, Serena, it looks like this isn't a very good time", said Ash, observing the turmoil in front of him.

"Right" she responded, letting go of them and returning to the battle. Ash and Misty ran up to Giovanni, who sent agents to investigate the jet in which they were transported.

"We have to find Annastasia and our Pokémon too", said Jessie, grabbing James by the hand. They followed Giovanni back into the plane.

"I am glad you two are all right. We figured they would bring you here", the boss told them.

"They have Annastasia", James cried.

"Do you know who took her?" he asked.

"No, they knocked us out first", Jessie explained. "They took her while we were out".

"Then we will search everywhere", he assured them.

"Oh, thank god you are okay", Delia said when she noticed Jessie and James.

"We are not okay, they took our baby", Jessie informed her.

"We are already on it", Giovanni responded when Delia looked at him anxiously.

"Ok, don't worry, we'll get her back", said Delia, hugging the two of them closer.

After all that they have been through, Giovanni and Delia had become like parents to the two misfits. Something about they two of them, both together and separate, made Jessie and James happy that they were always on their side, even though they hadn't always been in the past.

"Mom!" Ash called.

"Ash!" She responded, letting go of Jessie and James to hold her real son.

"Glad you are here", said Giovanni. He tossed Ash and Misty a bunch of Pokeballs. "All your Pokémon should be there. A grunt just found them, and they have your names on them. Just open them to make sure".

Misty and Ash released the Pokémon, and sure enough, everyone was accounted for, even Pikachu, who never went into his ball. They had been locked in, and the poor Pokémon had no way of getting out on their own. Giovanni also tossed James some of his Pokémon, but Jessie's Pokémon along with the ones that James released to battle were still missing.

"At least we got some back, now we just have to find the rest", James said optimistically, even though he had never felt worse in his entire life.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What is this?!" Jessiebelle screeched as she looked out the window. Her helicopter was trying to land, but the landing area was covered with trainers and agents battling Pokémon.

"They must have followed us", said Dave.

"I can see that", she snapped. "They should have been defeated by now".

"It turns out their were more skilled trainers at the wedding that we anticipated", said Mark.

"They must have gotten a tip-off. Dammit", Lisa replied nastily.

"What should we do, Boss?" asked Dave.

"Get the pilot of this thing to land us on a different island", Lisa instructed.

"Yes sir", Dave and Mark said together as they left to go pass on her orders.

"You don't know what to do next, do you?" Danny asked Lisa, though he already knew the answer.

"No", she responded curtly.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Annastasia cried. She had taken a break, but was now ready to start back up.

"Maybe I should just shoot this kid", Lisa mused.

They helicopter shook violently and Lisa and Jessiebelle were thrown out of their seats. Thankfully Annastasia was left unharmed, but the crash was enough to provoke louder tears.

"What is going on here?" Jessiebelle yelled to her lackeys, who just re-entered the space in which she was sitting.

"Something has got a hold of us", said Dave.

"Like a psychic Pokémon or something, but a really strong one", Mark added.

"It can't be. This helicopter can withstand all Pokémon attacks. There is no way a Pokemon can be doing this", Lisa chided.

There was another jolt and once again everyone was thrown to the ground. The helicopter started to descend, seemingly out of its own will.

"Look up there!" Clement shouted, pointed to the sky.

Everyone looked up to see Mewtwo and a small army of Pokémon clones floating around a black helicopter. Mewtwo had used confusion to take control of the helicopter, and it was descending towards them.

"Everybody move!" Brock yelled as they helicopter came closer.

They all got out of the way just in time. The battle never really stopped, but Brock, Gary, Mondo, Rumika, Butch, Cassidy, Archer, and Domino ran into the helicopter the moment it landed.

"Go Luxray! Thundershock!" Rumika ordered when she saw Jessiebelle, Danny, Dave and Mark trying to get up off the ground.

"Shadowball Houndoom", Cassidy instructed, causing the three lackeys to escape.

"Is anyone else in here?" Brock asked Mondo and Gary, who were looked all over the place.

"Look Here!" yelled Domino, who was now outside the helicopter.

Mewtwo was holding Lisa and Annastasia up with his psychic power. Mewtwo ordered her to let go of the child but she refused.

"He can't attack unless she lets go of Annastasia", said Gary.

Lisa took out a knife and held it to Annastasia's throat, changing the game completely.

By now everyone was frozen and staring at the three figures: Mewtwo, Lisa, and Annastasia, dreading what might happen next.

"What kind of sick person hurts babies?" May yelled.

"Shut up, child", Lisa snapped. "Unless you want this child to die, you are going to unhand me immediately".

"That…..Pokémon…oh my god", said Jessie. Silent tears started to fall as she watched her vulnerable child cry from being mishandled in such a brutal way.

"STOP!" James yelled, running towards Mewtwo. "Please, don't hurt her. We will do anything you want".

"I'll negotiate. I'll trade the child for all of you", she responded. "I don't want anymore threats to my organization. Will all of you on my side, I will surely win. Surrender to me or the child dies".

"No deal", Ash yelled.

"There has to be another way", said James.

Everyone was so tense that no one anticipated the two Eevee boldly springing to Annastasia's rescue. Aliyah paralyzed the woman while Acorn used her confusion attack to return her to Jessie's arms.

"Acorn, Aliyah, you two are alright!" James cried happily.

"Veeee!" they screamed happily.

"Thank you", Jessie cried, wiping her tears and pulling them all close.

"How did you escape?" James asked.

"Woba Woba Wobbufet", said Wobbufet, wobbling into view. He was holding a key. Jessie and James' other Pokémon were beside him.

"He says dat he unlocked the cage they were being kept in", Meowth translated.

"Your are the greatest Pokémon ever", James told them.

"Wobba Wobbufet Wob", Wobbufet responded.

"Wobbufet says that they didn't lock him up because they thought he was a useless Pokémon, but you never really though he was useless", Lucy explained.

While Jessie and James had their little family reunion, Mewtwo and the clones helped the rest of their party defeat the rest of Team Firestar. Eventually, their opponents were left with no choice but to flee.

"They are getting away!" Max yelled as the planes started to take off.

"Its, okay, we have their leader, which is all that really matters", said Giovanni.

"I'd like to know how they got out of prison", Misty huffed.

"Me too", Iris agreed. "There is no way they got out legally".

"Well then it is time to send them back to where they came from, isn't it?" said Cynthia.

"Yes, and we should worry too much about the others we can track those planes", Mondo reminded them. "I made sure they were bugged".

"Good job, Mondo", said Delia.

" If they escaped from prison once, how do we know they aren't going to do it again?" Bonnie asked her big brother.

"I guess we will just have to wait and see", Clement responded.

They spent some time making sure that they had all their Pokémon. Thankfully everyone that Team Firestar had captured had been returned to their trainers, plus Team Rocket obtained a few new Pokémon of for themselves. No one was seriously hurt, not even James' near ninety-year-old grandparents, who had just battled alongside people 75 years younger than them. After a bunch of people came up to comfort Jessie and the baby, James pulled her aside.

"What should we do now?" Jessie asked.

"I say we pick up were we left off", James suggested, handing her a rose. It was probably the only thing on-site that wasn't burned.

"I would like that very much", she responded.

Jessie and James told Delia about their desire to go back to Kalos and continue on with the wedding, and she immediately announced it to the group. Mewtwo and his family of clones disappeared. Jessiebelle, Lisa, Mark, Danny, and a few other Team Firestar grunts were taken back to prison by a few of Giovanni's most trusted agents. Delia and Giovanni also ordered planes to come pick the rest of them up, and they were escorted back to Kalos. It was a group effort to clean up the site, which was plagued with burnt grass, craters, overturned tables, chairs, and pews, broken instruments, and destroyed decorations. Eventually everything was back to looking almost like it did before, even the guests, who had cleaned up. Jessie had also called on Remy to deliver more food. Luckily their special wedding cake was left untouched, since they had left it in the hotel so that it didn't get too warm out in the sun during the wedding.

"I wish my dress didn't get burned", Serena said to Clement. "I really liked this one".

"I really liked this tie", he responded. "But, I guess it isn't the clothes that matter. And I think you look beautiful no matter what you wear".

"That is very sweet", Serena replied as the two of them took their seats next to Cilan and Iris.

James' pop-pop once again walked Jessie down the isle. This time, when she got to James, instead of exchanging vows, they skipped straight to the 'I now pronounce you….' and the kiss, which lasted an awkward 30 seconds. It probably would have gone on longer if it weren't for the fact that Misty called them out, followed by May, Dawn, and Iris. But Jessie got her vengeance later when the couple cut the cake and started pelting each other and their former 'enemies' with dark chocolate frosting.

"Hey! This stuff stains!" May cried.

"Yeah, what gives, I loved this dress!" Dawn complained.

"Piplup!" Piplup whined.

"But all of our dresses are destroyed anyways", Jessie said teasingly. "And no one calls me out on my wedding day!"

Later when Jessie got up to throw her bouquet of roses to the crowd, everyone laughed when it was caught by a very shy and red May.

"I guess that means it's the contest twerps that go first", James whispered to Jessie, who laughed, the two of them sharing this secret ship for a while now.

"Congrats you two. I knew it all along though", said Harley as he playfully smacked May and Drew on the backs.

"HARLEY!" May whined, running after him while Drew sighed and nonchalantly walked away.

"We still have our dance", James reminded Jessie as she fed Annastasia some vegetable mash that she had stashed in the car.

"James… I think everyone here is too tired for that", she responded with a half smile.

"No we're not", she heard a voice say.

Jessie and James looked towards the voice and saw a group of twerps watching them.

"It wouldn't be a fairy-tale wedding without the dance, right?" said Serena.

"I guess not", Jessie agreed.

"Yeah, you may not like to follow rules, but this is one tradition worth following, I think", said Iris.

James and Jessie nodded at the younger guests. Jessie wiped the food off of Annastasia's face and handed the baby to James' Nanny, who offered to hold her while they danced. James told Lucy and Meowth to get ready to play.

"But most of dose instruments are ruined", said Meowth. "How are weeze 'sposed to play de songs yous want?"

"You can do simpler version, anything is fine, really", he responded.

"Whatever you need", Lucy replied. She still had that soft spot for James.

Meowth and Lucy got their band of instrument-playing Pokémon together and together they managed to scrap together a piano, two guitars, and a violin. Everyone stopped talking when the music started to play.

"Time fere the weddin' dance!" Meowth announced.

"This is our moment", James whispered as he took her hand. They stepped forward and started to dance.

"It's about time we got some attention", Jessie responded.

As usual, they stole the show, and no one was going to interrupt them this time. After all, it was Jessie's dream to have a beautiful wedding during which she could show off. Shallow as it may sound, it was still just a simple desire. Its not like she ever got to have a party like this before, and she saw it was perhaps the most important day of her life. It wasn't until the second song picked up that anyone else dared to join them.

"I always wanted to dance at a wedding!" May squealed happily, pulling Drew along. "I think its okay for us to join in now…."

They ran passed Ash and Pikachu, who were still at the desert table, stuffing their faces with the leftover cookies and candies.

"Ash, aren't you going to ask me to dance?" Misty asked in a half-annoyed tone.

"If thts wht y wnt", he answered incomprehensibly. Crumbles of chocolate chip cookies fell out of his mouth as he spoke.

"Pikaaa", Pikachu sighed as he shook his head in embarrassment.

"Come on you dope", Misty told him, wiping his face with a napkin while he tried to swallow what was already in his mouth.

"Okay, let's go", he said, offering to take her arm.

As they headed to the center of the clearing, Pikachu found Azuril, who blushed and then asked Pikachu for another dance.

"Pika!" the yellow Pokémon answered enthusiastically as he joined his best friend.

"I'm happy they finally got to do this", Rumika said to Linda as they watched the couples dance.

"You should be out there too", James' grandmother said to her.

"No, why don't you go? I'll hold her for a while. I need to sit" Rumika responded.

"That's so sweet. Are you sure?" James' grandfather asked.

"Positive", she replied, taking the baby from them.

"Rumi", Annastasia sighed happily.

James' grandparents joined everyone else while Rumika sat alone with the baby. After about twenty minutes, Mondo and Duplica sat down next to her.

"Hey, we thought you might want some company", said Duplica.

"Yeah, and a little break", Mondo added, offering to hold Annastasia for a while.

"Thanks you guys", Rumika told them as she handed him the child.

After about two hours, everyone started to leave. Jessie and James were the last to stop. After a brief kiss, they went to find Annastasia.

"Thank you for watching her for us", James said to Mondo, Rumika, and Duplica.

"It was no trouble. After all, she's an angel", Duplica said sweetly.

James smiled and took the little girl in his arms.

"Things are better, right?" Annastasia asked her parents as they said goodbye to their guests and walked towards the car.

"Yes, things are better", James assured her.

"For now, at least", said Jessie, stroking her thin blond hair.

"Anna-chan, the world is a scary place, but we are going to do our best to make it less so that you don't have to be afraid, okay?" James said to the child.

"Ok", she yawned.

"Dat kid looks tired", Meowth commented as he, Wobbufet, Lucy, Logan, and Lily, walked by them and climbed into the car.

"To say that she has had a long day would be an understatement", James replied.

"But you were right, we made it. As always", Jessie said to James.

"Wobba Wobbufet!" the Pokémon agreed.

As they drove away in their car, off to start their second honeymoon, they could hear the sound of tin-tuna cans banging against the pavement and a boatload of twerps, family members, and co-workers yelling 'good-bye' and 'good-luck'. As was tradition, flying Pokémon dropped birdseed down on them as they drove away.

"They are going to have an exciting life", said Delia.

"Yep. That kid of theirs….well, she doesn't know it yet, but she is in a whole lot of trouble", said Ash. "Dare I say, double trouble?"

Misty smacked him with a fan. "That's cheesy and lame!" she reprimanded.

"But its true", Richie laughed.

"Well, I guess our vacation officially starts now", said Cassidy, looking around at all the wedding scenery in the meadow. "I feel sorry for the porr sucker whose job it is to clean up all this junk".

"Jessie said that you could do it", said Giovanni.

"Ha-ha", said Butch.

"Oh shut up, Botch", she snapped. "Why do I have to do it?"

"Well, someone's gotta take care of it", said Dawn.

"The girl is right", Giovanni told her.

"Yeah, and the bride has spoken", Sakura added. "Which means that you have to listen".

"And that wasn't a request, its an assignment", said Giovanni before he dismissed himself and Delia.

"Fine, but I will get her back one day", Cassidy cursed under her breath.

"Misty, Pikachu, Azuril, Articuno, I say we go back to our hotel room and watch movies until we fall asleep", Ash suggested.

"Pikachu!" Pichu cheered.

"Yeah, and try to forget what Jessie and James are probably going to be doing the second they get back to their room", Misty added.

"Ew gross. For some reason I knew you were going to bring that up", Ash commented.

"Well, someone had to", she laughed seeing Ash's red face.

"Bye everyone!" Ash called as they waved goodbye.

Most of the wedding party had already left, off to enjoy their free vacation. Kalos really was beautiful this time of year, when there wasn't a wedding war to worry about. So although it was a stressful day, at least it was bound to be a happy night for all the 'good guys' involved. Except maybe Cassidy, but at least she had Butch around to help her do some of the heavy lifting.


End file.
